Graffiti My Soul
by SoloInsignificance
Summary: AU Swan Queen - Emma is a straight laced school girl from a good home, close to graduation, with a clear view of her future. Regina is a graffiti artist that has grown up in foster care, she lives in the moment with reckless disregard for what the future might hold. Until their paths cross, and Regina discovers life might be worth living after all.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N So, I was inspired by a post on tumblr - "How about a complete AU, hmmm? ;) Regina is a street artist living in the moment and not caring about her future… Than she meet Emma - girl from a good home - and everything changes…:P"**

**And I decided to write the AU fanfic for it. Fresh onto this site so I might make a ton of mistakes trying to post and such, but if people like this I'll carry on with it. (also fresh onto tumblr if anyone wants to add me I'm solo-insignificance over there)**

* * *

A pair of scuffed converse sneakers splashed through a slowly drying puddle without care. Thick baggy denim darkened as it soaked up the excess water, unnoticed by the wearer who adjusted the backpack slung over one shoulder. It thumped lightly with each hurried step. The softest of clangs echoed within, muffled by the ear buds being enthusiastically pushed into place so that music could drown out the hustle and bustle of noise that screamed through the city. The street felt littered with people, but the figure bowed it's head, face hidden by the shadow cast from the hood it pulled up. Hands were stuffed into pockets and they continued on, side-stepping strangers until they found the alley they'd been looking for. Daylight had dimmed but it would last for another hour. More than enough time to finish what had been started the day before. With a quick look to make sure nobody had followed, the figure pulled up the bandana tied loosely around their neck and covered the majority of their face. Only their eyes were on display as the back pack got shrugged off to land at their feet with a thump. Hungry fingers delved inside to pull out several cans. Five in total were lined up as the figure stepped back to glance at the wall. The back of some fancy café or something. The kind of place money flocked towards. After a moment of thought a can was selected and shook for a few seconds, the click clack of the ball bearing inside rattled then stilled as the figure pressed down on the nozzle. Blood red sprayed in a controlled arc.

* * *

"So are we going to talk about the way Neal couldn't keep his eyes off you today or are we pretending to be blind again?"

Emma released a heavy sigh and pushed a few strands of blonde hair behind her ear. She narrowed her eyes at Ruby and the girl just grinned wolfishly back. The brunette had been her friend since preschool. Ever since some kid had taken Ruby's crayon and she'd snatched it back for her to stop the girl from crying, but honestly, sometimes Emma really wanted to hit her. Like right now. She settled instead for stealing the blueberry muffin her friend had just bought and slumped back in her chair, ignoring the indignant look shot her way. "No?" Emma huffed out a breath, "I get it okay, yeah he's cute and whatever but…"

Ruby quirked an eyebrow and scoffed, "But nothing, that boy has you in his sights, everyone knows it."

"So?" Emma frowned, her fingers tapped restlessly against her mug of cocoa before she raised it to her lips to take a gulp of the sweet, scalding liquid. It burned at least half of her taste-buds off but she grimaced for entirely different reasons.

"So when are you taking him for a test drive?" Ruby said with a roll of her eyes, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "We graduate in like, four months, it's now or never unless he ends up at the same college as you."

The smile Emma tried to flash her friend turned out to be a cringe that she then attempted to hide behind her mug. "Mmh, tempting." She murmured around the porcelain, and took another sip of her drink. Cream stuck to her upper lip and she wiped it off absently. "I don't know, I guess I don't feel the rush to date. I mean you said it yourself, we're done with school soon and one summer does not a relationship make. Not if it's just for the sake of being in one that you know isn't going to last because of going off to college."

A moment of silence lingered between them until Ruby all but shouted, "Who said anything about a relationship? Emma! You're seriously going to head off to college without at least fooling around with him?"

Emma slunk down in her seat and avoided the eyes of those who glanced towards them with interest. "Shut up, Ruby!" The blonde hissed, clearly uncomfortable. If she could have made herself any smaller she'd have crawled into her bag. "And stop looking at me like that!"

"Like what?" Inquired her friend, not nearly as innocently as she'd hoped.

"Like…" Emma could feel the heat of the blush as it crawled up her neck to taint her cheeks. "Like I'm _wrong_ or something for not jumping on Neal like a starving animal."

With a tilt of her head, Ruby studied the blonde and shrugged lightly. "I don't think you're wrong. I just don't understand why you'd pass up the opportunity to have a little fun."

"Fun." The word fell flat from her lips as Emma shook her head and shifted in her seat. "So now I'm boring?"

"Hey no, I didn't say that." Ruby's amusement dissipated as she reached across the table to clasp her friends hand.

Emma dodged the contact by grabbing the muffin up in her right hand while her left clutched the strap of her bag. "Whatever, I need to get home anyway. I'll see you tomorrow."

Ruby's big brown eyes followed her as she stood up. When she spoke it was barely more than a whisper. "Are you mad at me?"

Shoulders slumped as Emma turned to face the brunette. On some level she understood there had been a spike of anger at Ruby's friendly inquisition but in truth she couldn't pinpoint why it had bothered her so much. Maybe she was over-reacting but she'd rather talk about their art project that was due in two weeks, than talk about Neal. Sure he was attractive, in that sort of scruffy, facial hair way and yeah, he always smiled at her but that didn't mean she had to sleep with him. "No…" She finally sighed out.

"I really didn't mean anything by it, it's just…" Ruby's expression looked pained as she turned to brush her hand against her friend's arm lightly. "You've never had a boyfriend, and you've always been there for me through mine, I don't want you to miss out, that's all."

Emma blinked. Swallowed back the rising, unwarranted panic, that felt a hell of a lot like bile and forced herself to smile. Of all the looks Ruby Lucas had ever given her over the years, pity had never been one of them. Things apparently changed, faster than Emma could stand it. "I get it, but I really have to go. I'll see you at school, okay?" She didn't wait around for the answer as she walked off towards the bathrooms, which she avoided entirely, and slipped out of the back exit quietly, despite knowing it wasn't really meant to be used by customers. The cool breeze felt wonderful against her heated skin but the crisp, clean, air she'd been expecting was heavily tainted with paint fumes.

With a scowl she wiped at her nose as if that could take away the smell. Of course it didn't but she did catch sight of the culprit and let out an annoyed, "Seriously? You realise graffiti is illegal, right?" When she was met with silence Emma felt her earlier anger flourish. Several quick steps brought her next to the hooded figure and she grabbed their bicep before they had the chance to spray anything else. "Dude, I'm talking to you!"

The figure staggered back, then turned to glare at the intrusion. Paint can clutched tightly in one hand like a weapon while the other hand lifted so fingers could pull an ear bud out in frustration. "_What the hell?_" Came the haughty response through bandana, albeit slightly muffled, "You need something or are you just getting in my face for the thrill of it?"

Emma missed the way those dark eyes took her in from head to toe because she was too busy waving her hand towards the freshly finished painting. "This, what you're doing, is illegal. Graffiti isn't art, it's vandalism and this is…" The blonde finally turned to look at the wall, a slight gasp of breath being sucked in as she blinked. A woman wearing a dark smirk, dressed in an elaborate, black and purple gown clutched a knife in her right hand that dripped thickly with blood. The woman on her knees before her had a gaping hole within her chest, but the cause of imminent death appeared to be the gash across her throat which sprayed crimson. Her eyes wide open in despair as she gazed up at the dark woman that stole her life in such a brutal manner. Emma felt a twisted sense of intrigue and horror at the scene depicted and returned her wide, green eyes to the artist who'd brought it to life.

"Why, because it's not strung up in some gallery where only a handful of people can gawk at it and murmur how life altering it truly is like those haystacks worth a fortune? Art is art, no more no less, and fixing a price tag to it doesn't change anything. It just makes you pretentious." Said the hooded figure, dark eyes glaring at the blonde as if it showed defiance.

Whatever response Emma had been expecting it really hadn't been that, so when her mouth opened and no words escaped she blinked and took a moment. Rather than admit the person had a valid point she huffed out a breath and fired back with, "Yeah well, you're still defacing other people's property and that's just selfish and wrong."

The hooded figure cocked their head and shrugged lightly. When they spoke it was almost light, though still muffled by the fabric that covered their mouth and nose. "You ever eat a burger from those big chain fast food places, or do you dine solely on twelve dollar muffins?"

"Yeah, sometimes." The blonde admitted warily, then more aggravated, "It didn't cost twelve dollars! It cost eight." As if that really made any difference when she'd taken it from Ruby, but still, she wasn't about to let some street thug belittle her over the cost of a stupid muffin.

The figure scoffed. Eight dollars for a muffin. Two dollars would buy a box that would make ten. "Ah, then you'll know that Brazil is one of the worlds leading exporters of beef. Since the beef raised there is then sold to fast food restaurants here in the States and in Europe, well I guess that means you're contributing to the deforestation of the rainforest. How selfish and wrong of you."

Emma felt her jaw drop before she could stop it. "I… That's…" Barely a second later and she was shouting back, "That's not even relevant! How dare you stand there and lecture me on what I choose to eat? I'm not out there chopping down trees and setting fires!"

"Did I strike a nerve?" Despite the bandana covering their mouth it was obvious in tone that the figure wore a smile beneath the fabric. Though the amusement was stuffed down and replaced with a snarl as the person stepped forward, brandishing the can of spray paint like it were a grenade. "The point, princess, is that you're not better than me. We all do things that affect other people, however unintentional our actions might be, however good our intentions are, so you have no right to stand there and judge me for expressing myself when all it'll take to cover up the damage of my art is a bucket of paint that can be bought with the cost of your damn muffin."

The figure rolled their eyes and turned to spray three quick letters at the bottom of the painting. A signature that had been claimed as an alter-ego of sorts. Then, methodically, each can was capped with care. No sense in hanging about with an audience.

"What does T.E.Q. mean?" The question was out before Emma could contain it, head tilting as if that could help her comprehend. "Is that like, you're initials or something?"

Dark eyes gave the blonde a look that said how stupid they considered the question and yet managed to bite out a quick, "That's ridiculous. Why would I plaster my own initials over a wall? That's practically an invitation for the police."

"I,.. I don't know, I just thought…" Emma faltered, tearing her gaze away from the hunched over person to stare at the disturbing art that clung to the wall.

"It's my tag." Came the sighed out response as they sized up the tall blonde.

"Oh." Emma looked towards them and took a moment to chew on the inside of her lip. It would be stupid to ask but her curiosity had to be sated now that it had been piqued, So, as casually as she could managed, she stepped closer to ask, "What does it stand for?"

The figure had begun to pull out the contents of their bag to find find an apple that got stuffed into the pocket of their hoody. "None of your business." It was clipped and vaguely hostile as the figure abandoned re-packing their bag to glare at the blonde. "You'd probably run off to the owner with it anyway."

"I would not!" Although, in hindsight, shouting about graffiti being illegal probably hadn't been the best way to strike up a conversation but if Emma were honest with herself she truly hadn't expected _any_ kind of conversation. At least, not a rational back and forth, beyond being cursed at and told to back off. This was… This was surprisingly different, and whether she liked it or not, she was entirely intrigued. Deciding to change tactics as the hooded figure went back to packing up she added, "I'll give you my muffin if you tell me. It's tasty, honest."

A can of spray paint found itself slipping from fingers that fumbled to hurriedly grasp it before the thing clattered to the ground. Evidently the innuendo of that sentence was lost on the blonde who simply smiled, and was reward with a scowl as dark eyebrows lowered over narrowed eyes. "Not. Interested." The person all but bit out. Perhaps too vehemently.

Emma frowned, then motioned towards the gaping hole through the kneeling woman's chest. It felt eerily devoid without any hint of the organ shown. "At least tell me why she has no heart, I mean where is it if not in her chest?"

The figure paused from repacking their bag to stand up and admire their work. For a long moment silence hung heavy between them, and then finally the figure tilted their head towards Emma but kept their gaze on the wall. "I ask myself that same question every day. I still don't have an answer."

Confusion twisted Emma's features as she turned to face them, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." Was the only answer given as a couple of workers pushed open the back exit to take their break. The sudden flux of movement caused the hooded figure to grab at their things, rushing to stuff them into their bag before literally sprinting in the opposite direction without a backwards glance.

Emma could do nothing but watch as the person vanished out of the alley, and as she turned to do the same, the corner of a book caught her attention. Pale fingers scooped it up and she flicked through it, noting that every thick page was covered by drawings and doodles. Some eerily similar to the one stuck to the wall. "Huh." She said to herself, flicking to the back where a simple note was written. _Property of R. M. If found please deliver to the following address…_ Without thought she tucked the book under her arm and slipped her cell phone out of her back pocket to take a picture of the wall. She wasn't sure why, but Emma set it as her new wallpaper.

* * *

Half an hour later and Emma was driving down a street that had rows of large, extravagant houses on either side. The notion that the area would be run down had flittered through her mind on and off, so much so, that she had almost talked herself out of finding the location of the mysterious graffiti artist. However, since she'd taken her time to look through the book in the comfort of her car she'd discovered several pictures in particular that had made her pause. They had all involved her school logo, and used the colours to form a rather brazen outfit for the girls who had been sketched in rather risqué poses. Apparently short skirts, straining blouses complete with ties, were in fashion. Or at least took up enough mental space to spill over five pages. With the knowledge that the guy must attend her school, how could she not track him down? Now that her mind was firmly made up, Emma slowed down outside the address and parked her car.

Only once she'd strode up to the door and knocked did it occur to her that she had no idea what his name was. A startling realisation as the door swung open to reveal an elder brunette woman dressed in a power suit. When she smiled in such a calculated and cold manner, Emma had to fight the urge to shrink in size. Instead she wiped her hands down her designer jeans and flashed a smile of her own. "Hi… I'm sorry to bother you but I attend school with uh, your-"

The woman's smile remained in place but Emma caught the glint in her eyes as she held up a hand to cease her talking. "I see, and what kind of trouble has taken place this time?"

Emma shivered. The kind that left unpleasant goosebumps across her skin. The kind usually reserved for watching horror movies with her friends. "Oh, no trouble, I was just returning a-"

The sound of feet within the house caused the elder woman to turn abruptly, a sickly sweet request of, "Regina darling, come here a moment." Was given, and despite the gentle tone, Emma would have sworn it felt threatening.

Less than a second later and Emma heard a quiet,"Yes Co-_Mother_?"

The blonde frowned, whatever the girl had been about to say she'd corrected far too quickly for her to know, but the way the woman at the door narrowed her eyes, she obviously did. When the door was pushed open further to make way for a short haired brunette girl nervously covering her mouth, Emma thought maybe she'd gotten the wrong house after all. Until those dark eyes locked with hers and widened imperceptibly, a flash of recognition, and then panic.

_Girl._ Emma's mind announced in bold neon letters. _The graffiti artist is a girl._ The blonde wasn't entirely sure if she was more shocked or relieved by this discovery and she cleared her throat as the sketches she'd studied flashed through her mind. _She'd drawn them, those girls… That one, bending over a desk…_ "I…" Emma began, only to shake her head with a bemused grin.

Pleading eyes turned to the only adult and the brunette whispered, "M-mother this is-"

Then she saw it. Vivid, red and angry, a small slash across the girl's top lip on the right side. The wound still fresh, no longer bleeding as the blood had coagulated to seal the gash. "_I'm Emma._" Blurted Emma quickly. "I go to school with Regina and she left her book behind. I was just stopping by to return it."

"Your book?" The question was aimed at the younger brunette who looked like she might make a break for it at any second. Then those cold eyes pinned Emma to the ground as the woman asked her with a smile, "Which book would that be, dear?"

Emma didn't have many options to work with as she opened her bag to rummage through it. She did know, like a terrible sixth sense, that handing over the sketch book would somehow be disastrous. When her fingers pulled out her own library book it was with a triumphant, "This one." Emma saw the relief wash across the brunette's face as she thrust the book into her hands.

Unfortunately even that had been the lesser of two evils as the elder woman released a disappointed sigh on reading the cover. "Fairy Tales, Regina? Is it too much to ask that you read something with any semblance of substance? Even The Grimm versions would be a step up from that trash."

Maybe it was seeing the way Regina tensed with the same fire in her eyes as earlier when she'd spoke of art being art, or maybe it was because it was her own book being deemed unworthy, but Emma bristled visibly. "Yeah they are childish, but it's for a school project, nothing we can do about it except read them."

"I see. Well, I best check on dinner." The elder turned to smile that same cold smile and added lightly, "Thank the girl Regina, then set the table."

Neither of them spoke until the footsteps could no longer be heard. Only then did Regina turn to scowl at the blonde who had shown up unannounced on her doorstep. "What the hell are you doing here, did you follow me?"

"What, no!" Emma whispered back in annoyance. "You left your sketch book when you took off, it has your address on it so I figured I'd drop it off."

Regina stepped outside and closed the door over gently so that their voices wouldn't carry. "Why? Why would you do that? And why do you have a book of Fairy Tales, you're not a child!"

"It's for an art project you… You ass!" Emma hissed as she stepped closer, "And I was trying to do you a favor, unless you want her to see all the things you draw, because I can hand it over right now if you want." True, or rather, half true, considering a major motivation for showing up had been sheer curiosity to see who had drawn all that stuff. Really, given some of the content, was it any wonder her mind had supplied a male gender? That didn't quite explain the rush at discovering she'd been wrong, though.

Dark eyes narrowed as Regina stared back at forest green. The blonde was only a few inches taller but the problem as she drew closer wasn't her height. It was that she smelled like spring flowers and sunshine and it was horribly distracting. She wanted to push her away, gain some space, but instead Regina found herself leaning towards Emma to growl out, "Don't push me, princess. You have no_idea_ what I'm capable of."

"Oh I can guess. Nice uniforms you created by the way, looks like we go to the same school." Emma flashed a toothy grin as shock ran through the brunette. Whether from the fact that they went to school together or that she'd browsed the collection of art was beyond her. "All very _detailed_. Couldn't help but notice you neglected to included the male range."

Regina's nostrils flared with anger, lips parted in a sneer that turned vaguely into a grin, "Are you threatening me with something or is that your way of saying you liked what you saw?" The brunette straightened up to her full height and flexed her fingers. If it were a threat of some kind she'd dedicate herself to destroying the blonde, regardless of how long it took.

Emma faltered as she watched those full lips part and curve into the briefest hint of a smile. The girl was like a complete contrast to herself. Dark and filled with rage where Emma was light and filled with joy. Pale skin to tantalizing olive. Then something inside her mind clicked into place, and all pretense of the argument dissolved as the blonde blinked back at the girl. "I'll answer your question if you answer mine."

"_You didn't ask anything_." Snapped Regina impatiently, with a nervous glance back towards the closed door.

"I would have if you'd let me finish!" Emma forced herself to take a deep, calming, breath and wondered how the girl could annoy her so damn much when she'd only just learned her name. "Back in the alley, what you said, about asking yourself that every day…" Emma paused to nervously lick her lips. "You were talking about your mother, weren't you?"

Regina's face darkened. When she spoke it was so low Emma had to lean closer just to hear it. "Cora is not my mother."

Emma frowned, utterly confused, because she'd heard her say it twice. "So why would you call her that?"

"Because she requests it. This is my foster home. But to answer your question, yes." Regina's expression went from anger, to hurt, to emotionless in a matter of seconds. Then she blinked and gazed right into forest green to ask, "Happy now?"

"No, that's really crap! I mean…" Emma cringed, then took a moment to chew on her lower lip while her mind absorbed the information. "Thanks for answering but hell… She seems like a real piece of work, you know?"

"Oh, I know." Regina murmured, self consciously using the tip of her tongue to trace the fresh cut above her lip. Then she shook her head and quirked a dark eyebrow. "Your turn." She smirked. "Did you like the uniforms or was it simply the girls who wore them?"

"Please, they're drawings, I'm hardly going to lust after cartoons." Emma scoffed, arms lifting to wrap around herself as she rolled her eyes and fought a blush. Though she maintained her ground within Regina's personal space. Her elbows almost grazed the girls arms. "I will admit that the uniforms were kind of cool, but I did expect the artist to be, well a guy, because of them. No offense or anything."

Regina took in a slow breath as she watched Emma. The slightest tilt of her head was given as she smirked. "None taken." She said somewhat flippantly before raising one hand to drag her fingers along the collar of her shirt. All the while watching as Emma's eyes followed the movement. "But you do lust, don't you? So _that's_ why you smiled when you saw me at the door." At first Regina had thought it was some sort of power play, that the blonde was about to announce what she'd done earlier or perhaps just use the information later, but then she'd surprised her by covering entirely. "Give me your phone." She demanded quietly.

"I… I…" Emma could do nothing but blink and stutter as Regina picked up on something her friends seemed so clueless about. Had she been caught looking or was the brunette just perceptive? "What?" She snapped out of it, cheeks burning as she avoided the dark eyes gazing intently at her. "I'm not giving you my cell, I barely know you."

Regina let out a huff of breath and closed the distance between them. Her body molded warmly against Emma's and the brunette reached around to slip her hand into the girl's back pocket and stepped back with her cell phone clutched lightly between her fingers.

Startled, Emma had froze while her heartbeat raced at the sudden contact, and let out an undignified whimper when that warm hand had ventured inside the denim. She found her voice the moment Regina had granted them some space and exhaled a shaky, "H-how did you know it was in my back pocket?"

Regina smirked at seeing her art as the girls wallpaper but didn't comment. Though she did pause in her typing to quirk an eyebrow at the blonde. "Lucky guess. Your jeans are so tight I could see nothing was in the front pockets, that only left the back ones."

"Oh. Well…" Emma swallowed thickly and shrugged, apparently at a loss for words as she mutely accepted her phone back with a confused frown.

"I added my number. Text me later so we can work out when to swap books back at school. I'd love to stay and chat but I have a table to set and you probably have another girl to stalk." With that said, Regina flashed a wicked grin and slipped back inside the house.

Emma stood there a moment longer before pivoting and marching back to her car. By the time she'd gotten inside she'd already sent Regina a message. _I do not stalk people!_

An hour later when she was about to step into the shower her phone buzzed and she scowled down at the message. **Said the girl who showed up on my doorstep without even knowing my name.**

Emma groaned in frustration and quickly typed back, _Shut up, you requested at the back if the book were found to deliver it to that address. Can't talk, stepping into the shower. Text you later about meeting at school._

Before her toes were even wet her phone buzzed again. Three words flashed on the screen, taunting her enough to throw the damn device onto her bed in anger. **Make me, princess.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N - I'd like to give a big shout out to Literariness, Shattered Faith, Half In Love With (no need to excuse your language, I enjoyed it), Nastya Rey, Alex and Guest. Thank you all for such amazing reviews! Each of you made me grin like a complete fool. I can't believe it. Seriously, you guys rock. To everyone who faved or followed, thank you so much for giving this story a shot.**

* * *

In the darkness of the sparse room the faintest glow of yellow light caused shadows to dance over the back wall with every page turned. A torch nestled carefully under a pillow became a hands free way to read in the safety of blankets with her back to the door. A make shift tent to stop the golden beam from leaking outwards, across the floor, and under the gap of the door. Regina had learned the hard way months ago. After being caught up when Cora had told her to go to bed. The woman certainly enjoyed dishing out her peculiar and twisted punishments. _Lessons_. Cora liked to call them lessons. Countless hours spent awake, in the dark, with nothing but her frustration and thoughts for company didn't seem quite so bad to Regina in comparison. Inevitably though, she had begun to revert, concealing her actions like she had as a child. Born from sheer determination not to be robbed of her free will or forced into compliance without a fight. Regardless of how silent and sneaky she had to be to accomplish such small victories. They were hers, and they mattered. They mattered.

After a while the brunette flicked over the pages that contained stories and focused on the pictures instead. Out of context some looked innocent, while others became twisted, almost confusing in what they showed. With a sigh she flicked through the book faster then shut it with a slap of annoyance. Countless words all representing foolish girls too dumb to save themselves and desperately seeking Prince's and King's to solve their woes of being single without children. Boo hoo, what a burden. "Unrealistic, useless, tripe." The brunette muttered under breath and reached for her phone. A quiet click later and the torch was switched off and hidden within the pillowcase.

It was only a little after ten o'clock. Regina considered this the perfect time to send a text to the blonde that had caused her nothing but aggravation since she'd met her earlier that day, at the back of that stupid café. **Do you honestly read that ridiculous garbage?**

Emma, comfortable and snuggled into her thick duvet as she waited for sleep to take hold, had been about to beat her high score on Tetris when the text came through and startled her. With a frown she opened the message and let out a long suffering sigh. _Obviously you just did so it can't be that bad. You just interrupted my game of Tetris, thanks a bunch._

Regina snorted into the silence of her room and rolled her eyes. **I had nothing better to do. Though it was, in parts, particularly filthy. Why are you playing Tetris, have you found yourself stuck in the 90s?**

Part of Emma wanted to turn her phone off but a bigger part actually found herself anticipating another message. Maybe she just enjoyed arguing with the girl she couldn't quite predict. Whatever the reason, the blonde refused to question it, and bit back a laugh when she read the latest snark to flash across her screen. _Shut up, I know it's an old game but I find it calming. I can't believe I'm even asking this but what do you mean parts were filthy? It's Fairy Tales, not some trashy romance novel._

For a moment Regina closed her eyes and pictured a series of small colourful blocks falling slowly into place then vanishing from existence. There was something simplistic yet methodical about the whole process that she'd never bothered to think about before. However, just because she could understand what the blonde meant, she didn't have to tell her. **I'm not surprised you'd be entertained by virtual building blocks, considering your reading material. I meant exactly what I said. You don't see anything sordid about Pinocchio?**

If Emma rolled her eyes with any more force they might just pop out of their sockets like over-sized marbles. _I already know I'm going to regret this, but no, I don't see anything wrong with a puppet wishing on a star to become real._

The smirk curved Regina's lips slowly as she read the girls response. Of course she'd see everything innocently. It only made the brunette grin more because she was about to trample all over it deliberately. **Really, you see nothing sexual about a boy made of wood, a common reference to an erection? His nose grows every time he tells a lie, can you honestly say there is nothing phallic about that? Symbolism is everywhere within these pages.**

The phone dropped from Emma's hand as she sucked in a deep breath and shook her head. It wasn't like she _wanted_ to think about it but now she couldn't stop herself. Images flashed within her minds eye and she shuddered. One hand scooped up her phone to quickly type back. _Are you implying that someone would actually sit on his face?_

Regina chewed the side of her thumb to stifle her laughter when the blonde finally responded. The silence hadn't lasted long, but it had been quite telling. She let out a delighted sigh. **Well I wouldn't suggest it. Imagine the splinters.**

Emma cringed as she thought about it involuntarily. Urgh, that was just sick, but the brunette had been right about symbolism. Which begged the question; what lay beneath the other stories she'd read without much thought beyond the surface? _Okay, so now I'll never be able to read that story again. What's wrong with the others?_

Half of Regina wanted to gloat when she read the question while the other half felt impressed that the blonde had the nerve to actually ask in the first place. Time to deliver a dose of reality. **Little Red Riding hood is clearly pornographic.**

Laughter erupted from Emma before she slapped a hand across her mouth. The last thing she wanted was her parents knocking on the door asking what was so funny. She composed herself with a shake of her head. There was no way that could be true. _Are you deranged? How could that story possibly be anything other than horror? You're messing with me._

Regina shook her head. The blonde's naivety was making this so easy that it barely required any effort to answer her back. The beauty of it though was that she spoke the truth. Countless books had been written about such things. **Am I? The young girl, her iconic red cloak? A metaphor for a girl turning into a woman, representing her monthly blood. The wolf? Clearly the seducer, obviously a man ripe with animal urges. Tempting her into bed. Wanting to eat her. A blatant suggestion toward cunnilingus. Shall I go on?**

Despite being alone in her bedroom, Emma felt a blush scold up her neck to taint her cheeks. Was she really sitting in the dark discussing how a children's story alluded to going down on a girl? Scratch that, the fact that Regina had sent the text somehow made it worse. _Or better._ Her mind whispered back. No. No this was absurd, she had to put an end to this before… Well, she wasn't sure what, actually. She just did. _Holy crap, I really wish you wouldn't!_

Oh dear, had she said too much? Regina grinned against her pillow and decided to tone it down a bit. No reason to send the blonde running from things she'd no doubt be thinking about for quite a while. Funny, how that knowledge pleased her more than it normally would in regards to anyone else. **Okay. Let's talk about how The Little Mermaid is teaching young girls that looks are all that matters.**

Relief washed through Emma's system as she slumped back against her mattress. Well, she could handle that kind of discussion. Even though she felt stupid for not picking up on something the brunette evidently found obvious. _How? How is that story teaching that kind of stuff to girls? She's half fish! Which is creepy enough, really._

Regina used the back of her knuckles to rub her eyes as she yawned. She blinked a few times until her eyes focused on the small screen again. **Ariel trades her voice for legs that cause severe pain. Ursula basically tells her that men prefer women with good looks over those who speak their mind. Interesting isn't it, how she sacrifices who she is, then relies on her beauty to make him fall in love. In only three days. How romantic. Reduced to an object.**

Emma felt the weight of those words crash down on her and felt horrified. _That's... Seriously, how did I never notice all of this? That's so messed up._

Silently Regina agreed with a slow nod. Though she didn't mention that as she wrote back with a shrug. **Original Fairy Tales were written for adults. These are just as bad. Since every girl is useless and obviously can't function without a man to dictate their actions and provide them with wisdom. It's a wonder that they can breathe themselves.**

One thing was for sure, Emma would never look at any of those stories the same way again. It was startling to realise how blind she'd been when it was right there staring her in the face. _Yeah well, I don't agree with that. Even before you picked them all apart for hidden sexual references._

Regina released a quiet grunt as she rolled her eyes. It hardly took effort to pick any of them apart. **They're hardly hidden. So what do you believe?**

White teeth sank into Emma's lower lip and chewed softly. Dare she be honest with her thoughts? The idea of the brunette laughing at her irked her more than she'd like to admit. Especially when she didn't want to know why. _I think that…_

Dark eyebrows arched as Regina waited for the rest of the message but when nothing else came through she frowned. **Yes?**

Emma sighed heavily and hit send before she could talk herself out of it. Then braced herself for the sarcasm she'd no doubt be met with. _Not every Princess needs a Prince... Why, what do you think?_

Well, that had been refreshingly honest. Truth be told, Regina hadn't expected it. The hesitance displayed by the blonde had felt almost vulnerable. Perhaps that was why she found herself replying in kind. **People are afraid to acknowledge that women can empower themselves? Some Princesses might not wish to be rescued. Maybe some long to be Knights instead, protecting their Queen, and vice versa. Queen's protecting their Princesses…**

Emma couldn't quite explain why the brunette's words evoked a soft smile or a flutter deep inside her stomach but they did, and she basked in the sensation for a moment. _Really? You believe that?_

Text or not, Regina didn't feel like she was being mocked, which was rare. So she took a moment to think about it. Really think about it. **Why not? Fairy tales shouldn't reinforce harmful stereotypes. They should open minds. If there was ever a place where anything could happen, it should be in fantasy, no?**

There was something beautiful in that sentiment, Emma felt it leak from the words as she re-read them, as if it could seep into her fingertips. Invisible yet tender. Like hope, only not. Her mind drifted to a question that had yet to be answered and she felt a surge of courage that compelled her to ask once more. _What does T.E.Q stand for?_

Regina had known it was only a matter of time before she was faced with that question again and she sighed. The blonde would find out sooner or later all on her own and she had no desire to explain the reasons behind it. So she replied quickly then turned onto her side to await sleep. **It's late. Don't forget to bring my book tomorrow.**

The brush off, though expected, stung ever so slightly. Emma chewed the inside of her lip as her fingertips danced across her phone in a rush. _What? Seriously? Come on! Why is this such a big deal? Just tell me!_

Emma settled back in bed and placed her phone next to her face on the pillow. She watched it, and waited, for another half hour before finally giving up and burrowing under the covers.

* * *

Mornings in the Swan household were either hectic or peaceful. There was never a happy medium but it suited the family's dynamic. When Emma awoke, and shuffled into the hall in her pajamas to find her father rushing out of the bathroom with one shoe on and his shirt un-tucked, she grinned. "Mom left for work already, huh?" That wasn't new, Mary Margaret ran the local day care center and often left first in the morning but never before making them lunch. Usually left on the kitchen table with a silly note expressing her love stuffed inside. At first Emma had cringed when she'd found one the first day of of High School but gradually over the years they had became tradition, and she realised she was lucky to have a mother who cared enough to stick smiley faces to cookies. During exams they changed to simple encouragement like 'you can do it' or 'don't sweat the small stuff' and even if they were silly they lightened her mood enough to stop her feeling so anxious.

"How'd you guess?" Her father chuckled, and paused just long enough to wrap his daughter up in one armed hug. His large hand cradled the back of her head gently as he pressed a kiss to the top of her hair. "I'll be leaving in two minutes, so remember to lock up when you leave. Have a great day baby girl, I'll see you tonight." David exhibited the same level of energy as the animals he looked after at his shelter, and all but bounced down the stairs two at a time to get to his cup of coffee that would no doubt be stone cold and finished in four gulps like usual. By the time Emma had brushed her teeth the front door was banging shut and she rolled her eyes at her reflection in the mirror.

Alone in the house with nothing to do but get ready gave Emma a wicked idea. Once she'd washed and raided her own wardrobe, she practically skipped into her parents bedroom, and headed straight over to her fathers closet. Narrowly missing a pair of boxers left on the floor. "Oh, gross!" She grimaced and averted her gaze to the shirts hanging neatly in a row. "Nope, nope, nope." Emma murmured, pushing each one aside until she found the thin strip of material, slung haphazardly over an empty hangar. That was exactly what she'd been looking for. "Perfect." She breathed, and made her way back to her room. Best of all, he'd never notice it was missing, either.

* * *

The first two periods flew in for Emma. Double biology felt like a luxury although most students grumbled at having to face it first thing in the morning. She took it in stride until the bell rang and then sauntered into her free study class where nobody ever actually studied. Some listened to music, some chatted, but for the most part she occupied herself with anything and everything she could just to avoid Neal's incessant attempts to get her attention. Crosswords, she'd found, were key. Not that she actually _enjoyed_ them in the slightest but they were the perfect excuse to watch him flounder when he couldn't provide any answers. Ten minutes of that was usually enough to send him back to his friends table, and then she could go back to daydreaming and filling in the squares with silly faces.

Finally, when lunch rolled around, Emma couldn't have been happier.

Ruby had already saved them a table. Belle cautiously made her way over with her tray of food seconds before Emma weaved through the throng of bodies all desperate for snacks instead of nutrition. Ruby caught sight of her first and had to double take, "Where the hell are your contacts?" She asked incredulously, as if Emma wearing her thick black rimmed glasses were a crime against humanity.

Belle actually raised her hand only to whisper, shocked, "Uh, I think the better question is where is your _skirt_?"

Emma pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Then, with an exaggerated eye roll, used one hand to proudly motioned to it. "Right here." The blue and silver plaid material stopped mid thigh. The only other time she'd adorned it had been in the confines of a dressing room while Ruby insisted she buy it. That had been almost a year ago. It probably didn't help that she'd decided to wear a pair of three inch heels to accompany it, but maybe those were tame compared to the white shirt that clung to her body like a second skin. The material was almost translucent in places, making her sky blue bra shine through. Technically she'd 'grown out of it' a while back but the buttons still fastened and she could still breathe without the fabric ripping. In her eyes that was a win.

A worried look marred Belle's feature's as she nervously glanced towards Ruby. "Shouldn't there be more fabric?"

Completely unfazed, and oddly proud of the skirt her friend wore, the brunette waved away Belle's question as if it were a bothersome fly. "Wait, you're wearing a tie. We don't have uniforms here." Ruby stated, bemused, only to turn her attention to Belle with a worried, "Do we?"

Emma actually laughed, a warm, breezy sound as she shrugged and absently twirled the end of her ponytail around her fingers. "I just felt like a change today, that's all. I don't really need a reason to wear whatever I feel like."

"You can wear that anytime you want, love, but I dare say it'd look better on my bedroom floor." The lecherous greeting was all the warning they got as Killian slotted himself into the seat next to Ruby with a wink.

Belle scrunched her face up in disgust but Ruby merely looked towards heaven as if praying for a lightening bolt to erupt through the cafeteria ceiling. Unfortunately, they weren't that lucky.

"I've had her." He announced proudly with a bit of a nod, then casually stole a few of Ruby's fries to chew on loudly.

Completely affronted Emma leaned across the table with the intent to slap the smirk off his face, Unaware that Belle had saved her tie with a quick hand before it landed in the ketchup at the side of her plate. "You have _not_ had me!" She hissed instead when he leaned out of her reach.

Killian raised his hands in mock surrender all the while grinning like the cat who ate the damn canary. "Not you, although I would if you'd let me. _Her_ at the table behind you."

As one, all eyes went to the table behind Emma, who had to turn her head to glance over her shoulder since she was still half bent across the table. She caught sight of very familiar dark eyes and watched as a questioning eyebrow lifted. Emma immediately stood up, self consciously flattening down her skirt as her face reddened, and sank heavily into her chair with her back to Regina.

"Who, the brunette?" Belle queried skeptically and picked up her burger to take a bite.

Emma's hand tightened around her brown paper bag until she remembered it contained her lunch. She focused instead on opening it with care to pull out the contents. One cheese and peanut butter sandwich that Ruby still teased her about whenever she had it. One bag of salted chips. A shiny red apple and a small carton of chocolate milk with a smiley face stuck to it.

Killian shook his head then winced in pain as Ruby intercepted his thieving fingers with a swift smack of her fork to his knuckles. "No, the little blonde next to her in the green shirt. Wild that one. No clue who the brunette next to her is, but she looks like she has Dutch boy fingers. Pity, such a lovely face."

In an attempt to completely ignore him, and if she were honest with herself, vent a little of her frustration at his presence at the table, Emma unwrapped her sandwich and took a large bite to chew viciously. She had no idea what the hell he was talking about now. Only that it involved Regina. Instinctively she turned to glance at the girl behind her. And regretted it immediately. As if sensing her gaze the brunette looked up and their eyes locked, right as she parted her full lips to take a bite of the banana she clutched. Why that sent warmth tingling through her stomach was beyond Emma and she swallowed the half masticated mouthful of sandwich thickly. It lodged itself part way down her throat and she coughed roughly.

"Dutch what?" This time it was Ruby who shot a withering glare at Killian, loathe to admit that she was paying attention to him, however slight.

He leaned back in the chair as if truly exasperated. "Dutch boy fingers."

"Her fingers look fine to me." Chimed in Belle, who gave him an odd look that said quite clearly how tiresome she found his nonsense.

Emma was inclined to agree but kept her mouth shut as she freed the straw from it's plastic and stabbed it into the little carton of chocolate milk with more force than necessary. She took a quick sip to clear her throat, then a few more just to stay silent.

"You're all stupid." Killian grumbled, then leaned his elbows on the table as he lowered his voice. "Remember that story about the little Dutch boy? I'm saying that she looks like the type of girl that enjoys sticking her fingers in dykes."

Emma, who had been pretending not to listen, practically inhaled her drink. Chocolate milk sprayed across the table as she choked loudly. Belatedly her hand came up to cover her mouth as she went into a coughing fit that sent flecks of saliva into her palm. She'd have been disgusted if she weren't so mortified. Emma could feel people looking at her, heard the muffled laughter from surrounding tables, and she groaned.

Belle was by her side instantly, mopping up the sticky liquid with a bunch of napkins while her free hand thumped lightly against the blonde's back. Emma wheezed her thanks as she wiped her lips with a napkin before any dribbled onto her clothes. Fingers scrunched the soiled paper up and she threw it at Killian once her vision cleared. It bounced off his cheek and landed on the floor, he barely even registered it.

Ruby, amidst snorted laughter, had started to slap Killian across his arm until he finally took the hint and got up, but not without a parting shot as he rounded the table. "Bad form Swan, you're meant to swallow, not spit. Don't worry, I'll teach you someday."

"Over your dead body!" Emma croaked out in disgust.

Killian hesitated, then frowned down at her in confusion. "Don't you mean over _your_ dead body?"

Emma smirked, "Oh hell no. There's no telling what you'd do to my corpse."

Before he had the chance to say anything else Ruby let out a loud bark of laughter and reached across the table to high five Emma while Belle used her fingers to drum against the table. The three of them dissolved into giggles as he walked off in a huff.

* * *

Behind them two sets of eyes watched the scene unfold with equal amounts of confusion and curiosity. "What was that all about?" The blonde asked, turning to face Regina as she traded her apple juice for the flapjack the brunette didn't want.

"I have no idea." Regina finally confessed once she'd eaten the rest of the banana and dumped the skin back onto her tray. Every few seconds she caught herself glancing at the blonde, happily chatting to her friends, utterly carefree. So blissfully unaware of how infuriatingly distracting she was. Regina's fingers curled around her fork involuntarily as she fleetingly considered blinding herself with it.

The blonde snapped off a piece of flapjack and chewed it thoughtfully. "I'm not going mad though." She said after a moment. "They _were_ looking over here. Tell me you saw that?"

"They were." Regina shifted in her seat to brush a few crumbs off her black t-shirt, then rubbed her palms along the lengths of her forearms to smooth out the thin white sweater she wore beneath it. "Do you know the guy that sat with them?" It came out casually as she glanced at her friend surreptitiously. The brunette snagged up the apple juice to take a sip and cocked her head. "Seemed like he knew who _you_ were,"

A noise clawed it's way up the back of the blonde's throat and she dropped her head back to grumble at the ceiling. "Killian. Fancies himself a bit of a ladies man, except none of us are interested. I made the mistake of smiling at him once."

Regina's gaze dropped to the half eaten mac and cheese on her tray. It took more willpower than she'd ever admit to block out the image of him leering at the blonde, but at least she'd seemed to take none of his shit if the display of her getting in his face was anything to go by. "Does he bother you?"

The blonde whipped her head around to look at the brunette. To anyone else it would sound like a normal question but she knew better than that. "Don't even think about it, Regina. He's not worth landing yourself in detention over. Or knowing you, worse."

"Mh." The soft noise was all Regina offered. Silence lingered as she absently toyed with the congealed pasta, then stabbed at it a few times before letting the fork fall with a clatter. "You'd tell me if he got out of line?"

A gentle nudge from the blonde's elbow landed against her friend's side and she nodded with a slight smile. "You know it."

With a slight nod of her head Regina let it go and brushed her fingers through her hair. "Our free study is next, any idea's?"

The blonde raised her eyebrows as if to consider the options. With a sly grin she shrugged and suggested, "We could always go to the library and switch the book sleeves around again."

The smirk she received from Regina was the only answer she needed.

* * *

The trio spent the next twenty minutes catching up in between munching. Apparently Killian had made an ass of himself all through P.E. and Ruby had come close to throttling him. The only thing that stopped her, she said, had been the fact that he'd sassed the teacher and landed himself in detention for the rest of the week. Belle confessed that she'd had a double period of Geography, and the girl Killian so boastfully claimed he'd bedded, was actually called Tracy Fink. Not only was she nice to chat with but she was also too smart to ever sleep with him. With ten minutes left before Art, Emma excused herself and said she would just meet Ruby in class, and that she'd see Belle in English for last period.

She'd only just checked her appearance in the mirror when the door opened and Regina walked in. The girl said nothing as she casually pushed each stall door open with a light flick of her fingers. Once she was satisfied that nobody else lurked she turned her attention on Emma with a bemused smirk. "Interesting ensemble. Any particular reason for it?"

"Nope." And if Emma's voice hadn't came out a pitch higher than normal, maybe the lie would have been more believable. "So, do you have my book? I need it for my next class." Well, she didn't _really_ need it since she could always share with Ruby, but since the girl seemed particularly taken with the tale of Little Red Riding Hood… That could cause some complications for the blonde. Especially after last nights conversation with the girl now currently staring at her.

Given the height difference with the blonde in heels, Regina allowed herself the luxury of letting her dark gaze linger on the tie before she reached into her backpack. "Of course." The tone sounded amused as she handed over the book that she'd spent the better part of an hour flipping through last night. Regina held her hand out expectantly and quirked a dark eyebrow. "And Mine?"

Emma caught herself looking at the scab that had formed above the girl's lip. It dipped partially into it. She could see it better now that it had dried. A sharp angry line that would no doubt leave behind a deep scar in it's wake. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask how she'd gotten it but she had the sickening suspicion she already knew the answer. After all, it had spurred her on to lie as she stood on the brunette's door step. "About that, I was wondering-"

"You've not brought it." Regina cut in with a scowl, that somehow reached her tone, as well as her features. She stepped closer in agitation and resisted the urge to laugh when the blonde immediately stepped back and wedged herself against a cubicle.

"No, I did!" Emma's hands had raised as if she were surrendering, and then as if coming to her senses, she quickly fumbled with the latch of her bag to retrieve the sketch book. Without preamble she thrust it towards Regina and released a deep breath the same way someone who had just defused a bomb might. Complete with the faintest sheen of sweat that stuck to her forehead like morning dew.

Regina tucked it into her bag but kept her eyes on the nervous blonde. Really, the sight of her so flustered was amusing, and if someone threatened to rip her teeth out with pliers she might even admit the girl was slightly adorable. Full lips tugged into a lazy smile as Regina lifted her hand to trail the tip of her index finger down the length of the sky blue and silver candy striped tie. She barely applied any pressure to the touch. Though she followed her finger with her gaze until she reached the bottom to play with the point. "You look good in this." The brunette whispered, then tipped her chin up to meet the blonde's forest green eyes. "What were you wondering?"

Could someone have an outer body experience while being wide awake? Emma felt like she was having one right now. Logically she knew she couldn't feel the warmth of the finger that ghosted across the silky fabric of the tie, but her skin felt like it had caught on fire. She could literally feel her pulse in her fingers, and belatedly wondered if that might be one of the signs of having cardiac arrest. The voice in the back of her head said she should create some breathing space. "I uh, I was wondering if you'd help me with my art project."

One dark eyebrow arched in a remarkably condescending manner as Regina stepped back with a sardonic, "But not _that_ good." What she'd expected had been along those lines, a request for something at least. Homework though? Not so much. The fact that the blonde's heart had been racing fast enough for her to watch the pulse beat at her jugular had alluded to so much more.

Panic erupted in the pit of Emma's stomach and she wasn't entirely sure if it was because she'd been told no, or because the brunette had distanced herself. With all the charm of someone drowning as they stuffed their own foot into their mouth, the blonde blurted without thought, "But you're so talented! It would be like a walk in the park for you! Plus I totally covered for your delinquency yesterday, that has to count for something, right?"

If it weren't for the pleading look etched across the blonde's face, Regina would have punched her. The fingers of her right hand curled inward as she thought about it. Instead the wave of anger quelled slightly as she took in the sight of those ridiculously green eyes and wondered how it was humanely possible for the girl to resemble a kicked puppy. Regina sighed in aggravation and ran her fingers through her dark hair. "Does it? You mean you didn't do it out of the goodness of your heart? Why am I not surprised."

"That's not fair." The whine in Emma's tone made her cringe and she cleared her throat before continuing firmly, "Look I didn't do it because I had some sort of plan at the time, I only thought about asking you today, so get off your high horse for a minute."

Dark eyes narrowed as Regina leaned in to invade the blonde's personal space. When she spoke it was with a sneer, "Sure Princess, I'll help. That way we'll be even in the good deeds department, but that means you can't hold my art over me in the future, got it? And if you ever call me a delinquent again _so help me…_" The last part was growled out. Threat very much intended.

Emma rolled her eyes at the threat and focused solely on the part about receiving help. The blonde looked like she was about to burst into song, or just burst, as she smiled brightly. "Okay deal! That's so great, thank you. Seriously, you have _no_ idea how much I need your help."

"First things first." Regina began, with the hope of squashing whatever girlish sound was sure to resonate from within the blonde before it reached ear splitting decibels. "When is this project due, and what _exactly_ is it about?"

The blonde took a second to collect herself and shrugged lightly, "Uhm, next Friday so that gives us ten days." Emma ignored the glare she received for the plural in that sentence and cleared her throat. "We've to design and then make an outfit inspired by whichever Fairy Tale we decide to pick."

"I'm out." Regina announced, and promptly turned on her heel to leave.

Pale fingers snagged her arm just like they had in the alley, only this time Emma wasn't chastising her. "No wait, please! You said you'd help."

"Yes." The brunette stated bitterly as she swung around to face the blonde. "And I'm regretting it already."

The pout Emma wore only seemed emphasized by the way she pushed up her glasses.

"Oh for…" Regina huffed out a breath then snapped in irritation, "_Fine!_ Text me later with all your idea's so I know what the hell I'm working with. And for the record _I'm not a seamstress_, so you can figure that out on your own. Now if you don't mind the bell's about to ring and I have places to be." Then, with a haughty once over of the blonde, she stormed out of the bathroom. All the while convinced that she didn't deserve any of this.

* * *

"You're distracted." Ruby whispered. When she got no reaction she gave a gentle kick to Emma's foot to rouse her from her daydream.

It worked, because the blonde jumped and smacked her knee against the desk. A wave of murky water sloshed from the jar in front of her to puddle on the floor. She'd been absently stirring her paint brush in it for the past five minutes. "What? I am not! I was just thinking." She mumbled, ducking slightly as the teacher glanced up from grading some of his other classes assignments.

The swirl of orange and yellow against canvas faltered when Ruby paused to look at her friend, and then pointedly at the blank canvas in front of her. "Emma you haven't even started yet. It's meant to be abstract, what's there to think about?"

"Who said I was thinking about painting?" The blonde shot back before her mind had a chance to advise her against it. Though she did make a show of drying off her brush. Satisfied that it would hold the paint, she dragged it through a glob of black and smeared it across the stark white.

Suspicion filtered across Ruby's face as she lowered her voice to an excited hush, "So what were you thinking about? Was it Neal?"

The muscle's in Emma's jaw twitched as she clenched her teeth. Unless Neal had shrank by several inches and developed breasts her mind had not been on him. Though it might as well have been since her skin flushed a bright pink, betraying her on some level. "For the hundredth time, Ruby, _no_."

"You're obviously thinking of someone." The brunette pointed out curtly. "You could set fire's with the heat radiating off your face."

Emma felt hysteria bubble up her throat and she swallowed it back down as best she could while shaking her head. "Oh you're hilarious. I was thinking about the stupid project we've to do. I mean, I thought we'd be going over some of it today but no, here we are, wasting time with acrylics."

"Really?" Ruby sent a side long glance towards the blonde, only to frown seconds later. "Shit, have you still not picked out which story to work with?"

Green eyes closed as the blonde slumped forward to rest her head against the cold hard plastic with a light thump. "I'm so screwed." Emma groaned against the desk. Covertly she managed to pull her phone from her bag.

* * *

After spending ten minutes swapping half the Physics book sleeves with Chemistry ones, Regina noticed a class enter the library and had nudged Tracy towards the door casually. The librarian, she'd never bothered to learn his name, had been entirely too distracted to notice the way they slunk out into the hallway. With nobody around the pair had ran down the Math corridor and knocked randomly on doors as they went. They pushed through the double doors at the end of the hall and encountered a scruffy looking guy in the stairwell carrying a box. He elbowed his way between them with a grunt of annoyance and clipped the side of the blonde's foot. She stumbled slightly and grabbed onto the banister with a grunt. Regina, who had watched it happen, took the liberty to slap the container out of his hands, sending a flurry of leaflets all sporting various warnings about STD's into the air. "Learn to watch where you're going!" She all but shouted into his startled face, then shoved him out of her way roughly.

"What are we going to do now?" The blonde had had asked once they'd jogged down the rest of the stairs and into another corridor.

After a moment of thought Regina had shrugged, only to suggest somewhat flippantly. "Raid one of the art supply closets?"

Tracy grinned and linked her arm through Regina's to half lean against her friend as she tugged her in the right direction. "Why not, I could use a few more blank books. Ooo, do you think they'll have those fancy brush pens in yet? Most of mine are done."

"Probably. If not we can always check at the end of the week, they're never out of them for long." Regina would know, since she had quite the collection herself stashed away in her bedroom. Among other things she'd acquired over the months.

"Your bag just vibrated." Tracy stated as means of explanation when she pulled the zipper open to stuff her hand inside. It took a moment to locate her friends cell phone and when she did she brushed the pad of her thumb against the screen instead of handing it over. "Who the hell is Princess Muffin?" She asked curiously, shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

Regina plucked her phone out of Tracy's hand with a light, "The most recent pain in my ass." A few quick taps and the message appeared. _Okay, here's the thing, I don't actually have any idea's. That's why I had the book on me yesterday. Lack of inspiration. It doesn't have to be from a Fairy Tale, exactly. Can you meet me in the parking lot after school? Mine's the yellow VW bug._

With a sigh, Regina pinched the bridge of her nose then shot a quick text back. **You're unbelievable. I'm only saying yes out of morbid curiosity to see where your train wreck of a plan, or lack thereof, is heading.**

Golden eyebrows raised as Tracy watched her friend stuff her phone into her pocket with a shake of her head. "Bad news?" She inquired softly.

"None that concerns me. Not exactly." Regina said flatly as her fingers brushed through her dark hair to tuck a few strands behind an ear. One dark eyebrow raised as she turned to her friend curiously. "So, completely ignoring our tags, who would you choose to dress up as from children's fantasy stories?"

Tracy cocked her head in thought and lifted her shoulders haphazardly. "Okay, I'm going to need more information before I can answer that. What's wrong with the one I picked already?"

"Nothing, it suits you, but this isn't about alter-egos or tagging." Regina frowned slightly. "I foolishly agreed to help someone design an outfit for their art project and they have no clue about which theme to pick."

"Ah." Tracy grinned slightly, putting two and two together. Obviously the person who had just texted was the one in need of help. "Well in that case, lets have us a little brain-storm, hm?"

Regina thanked her friend in the form of a small smile. Today was turning out to be longer than she'd anticipated. Without hesitation she silently blamed it on the girl currently plaguing her mind.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N - Wow. The reviews some of you have left me have been mind blowing. Honestly, thank you all so much. Every single one made me grin, and a few actually made me giddy because they were that amazing. To those who faved, followed or bookmarked, thank you very much. It means more than I can say. You are all wonderful!**

* * *

At the back of the parking lot Emma reclined against the door of her car and cast her gaze towards the sky. White wisps of cloud shifted lazily across the bright blue, like brush strokes on canvas, and she smiled. Everything felt right in the world when the sun shone so vibrantly. Today had been a good day. Most days usually were for the blonde and her friends. It was easy to stay positive when faced only with love and respect from parents that adored them. It gave an internal sense of peace, that when faced with trouble, anything could be overcome. Things would always work out for the best because they were never alone. Problems would never settle squarely on their shoulders when the burden could be shared equally and tackled as a team. Even with her project, when she finally worked out what she wanted to do, she knew her mom would help create it. The same way she'd made every single Halloween costume.

The same couldn't be said for Regina's perspective of life. Not that she would share any troubles she may face with anyone anyway. Why bother when there was no point? On the surface of things people liked to believe they were helpful, but when it came to actually helping? Experience had proved time and again that those kind of people were often scarce. It was easy to turn a blind eye on what could be happening when it didn't take place directly in front of them. Out of sight out of mind, right? Behind closed doors people truly revealed themselves. Regina kicked a stray pebble across the ground and shrugged her bag over her right shoulder as she made her way towards the blonde. The smile the girl directed her way in greeting was met with a sigh. "Why am I here?"

"Nice to see you too." Emma mumbled back. Nervously she pushed her glasses up with a quick fingertip and shrugged lightly. "I thought we could go somewhere and talk, you know? At least outline what we'll be doing so that I don't fail miserably." The latter had been said in jest, but when she received nothing but a blank look of boredom she cleared her throat and motioned to her car. "So uhm, yeah. Hop in."

"I'm not getting into that monstrosity." Came the quick response as Regina motioned to the vehicle with her left hand. "Why can't we talk here, how much is there to say? You have no idea's, you're projects due in ten days, and I'm apparently your best chance at not flunking. I think we can safely say you've covered the basics."

Emma's cheerful demeanor changed as she spat out, "Hey, there's nothing wrong with my bug!" More than a little offended she stood up straight, as if her extra height would somehow sway the brunette into taking her insult back. "And yeah, when you put it like that I guess I have told you the issues but so what? We still need to communicate and form some sort of plan. Is it really that bad if we do it where I can get a bear claw?"

It amused the brunette to witness the blonde attempt a sort of power-play with her height. Why she assumed it would be intimidating was beyond Regina, who merely quirked an eyebrow in response. If anything, it fuelled her on, now that she knew the car was a source of pride. With a slight smirk she said simply, "It's practically neon. That alone is reason enough not to set foot inside it." She slipped her right hand into the pocket of her jeans and shrugged. "I don't have time to grab a pastry and chat about fashion. All I need to know is what theme you pick, what style you want, and I'll draw it up and hand it over. What you do with it is up to you."

"Wha-?" Sputtered Emma. One hand absently found the roof of her car to splay against it, as if she were soothing a dear friend's feelings. "It's a happy colour!" At least, she had always seen it as such. Both of her parents had appreciated her choice. Sure it wasn't fancy or expensive but it held a certain charm that Emma had fallen in love with. For a first car, and second hand one at that, her bug was a dream come true. "Fine, we don't have to go anywhere but would it kill you to just sit inside it while we talk? You know, like civilised people."

"Yes, it's a magical ray of sunshine. How lovely." The way Regina said 'lovely' it sounded anything but, as if she found the brightness nothing short of sickening. "Do rainbows shoot out the exhaust when you drive it?" Really, she just couldn't help herself. Especially when the blonde had the audacity to all but call her uncivilized. Who the hell did she think she was? As far as the brunette was concerned that was strike two. The first had been during lunch.

"Yeah well I guess you'd know since you're the expert on rainbows!" The words were out of Emma's mouth before she could stop them and green eyes widened in horror once they'd registered. "I mean… I didn't..." The blonde swallowed thickly. She hadn't meant to say it like that. She hadn't meant to say it _at all_, but the brunette had a way of getting under her skin, and so she'd mouthed off in an attempt not to be out done. It wasn't like the girl could know that all day since lunch, Killian's words had played on Emma's mind and she'd been stuck thinking about the implications he'd planted. Panic wiped away all the thoughts in Emma's head except the one that said she should sign up for self defense classes during summer. "Uh…"

Strike three came quicker than she could have predicted. Regina's lips parted in slight disbelief, the tip of her tongue pressed against the back of her teeth as she shook her head. The surprise she felt quickly morphed into anger as she stepped closer. "Oh I think it's pretty clear what you meant and I'm not going to dignify it with a response." Dark eyes glared up at the blonde and took in the way she had her back pressed against the car, one hand behind her as she fumbled with the handle. The brunette snorted, "You know what? I changed my mind." Regina said softly, voice deceptively calm as she grabbed the girl's tie and wound it around her fingers to pull her down to her eye level. Their faces were so close she could literally smell the cinnamon lip balm that coated the blonde's lips. When Regina spoke, her tone had dropped dangerously low. "That's rich coming from you. Good luck with your project, maybe you should pick _Alice In Wonderland_. She was a confused, lost little girl, too." Then with one last glare the brunette released the fabric coiled around her hand, about turned, and stalked across the school grounds.

The second Emma's tie had been snatched up, she'd braced herself for the inevitable smack about to take place. When it didn't happen, and she caught herself thinking about how Regina's breath smelled like apple juice, the oddest sense of anticipation ran through her. Until the brunette verbally slapped her instead. Funny, how those words stung just the same. Enough for Emma to wince and pull back, a look of pure hurt etched across her features. It took a moment for her to recover as the girl turned away and she leaned heavily against her car door. Concealed within her chest, her heart desperately tried to break out of its cage by beating as fast as it could. Emma chewed her lip roughly as she watched Regina go, then slipped inside her car with a hushed whisper of, "_Damn it!_" The palm of her hand smacked against the steering wheel a few times in frustration before she finally sat back and released a deep breath. That had not gone as planned. In fact, she felt quite shitty and more than a little nauseous now. Green eyes caught sight of her reflection in the rear-view mirror and she grimaced, "The expert on rainbows? Seriously? What the hell was that?" Emma slumped forward until her head collided lightly with the steering wheel with a groan.

* * *

Tracy had thought the brunette had been lip syncing to music when she first glanced in her direction. Though, as she squinted from her seat on the wall, she couldn't spot any wires. With a frown she slid off her perch and jogged closer to fall in step with the girl. Whatever her friend was saying was too low for her to hear but loud enough for her to catch the tone. Or rather, the angry lines around dark eyebrows told her whatever meeting she just had with the mystery person had gone sourly. Unlike the majority of youths that attended their High School, Tracy had never been afraid of the brunette. The teachers, while fear played no part, either acted rashly or had a tendency to walk on eggshells around her and that never went well either. So rather than ask what was wrong, she pointed out lightly, "You're muttering to yourself."

"I'm not muttering to myself, I'm just…" Regina let out a huff of breath and lowered her gaze to her converse. Had anyone else said that to her she'd have taken their head off, either with a look or with a well aimed verbal slash to the jugular. With a shake of her head, she turned her face to look at Tracy and offered the barest hint of a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Having a one sided argument out loud."

The blonde rolled her eyes but with a slight grin of her own. Tracy wasn't annoyed, just amused at the way the brunette could rationalise the strangest of things and lace them with sarcasm. Quite a talent, really. "Want to talk about it?"

"No." Regina said bluntly. Then brought her hands up as if to strangle the air around her as she growled out through clenched teeth. "She's just so infuriating. Who the hell does she think she is?"

Curious eyes watched her friend as Tracy cocked her head to the side. Golden eyebrows arched as she asked gently, "Who?" Despite already having guessed it had been the girl who'd texted earlier.

Regina's frown deepened and she stuffed her hands into her jeans pockets to stop them from curling into fists. "Nobody. Nothing, just…"

Tracy let the brunette trail off for a moment before inquiring with a curious, "The pain in the ass?"

Regina flicked her short hair back with a quick turn of her head and said quietly, as if to herself, "Honestly, I can't believe I walked away without taking a few of her teeth with me."

Without any traces of denial the blonde more or less had her suspicion confirmed about the mystery texter. Tracy frowned slightly as she processed the new information and glanced towards her brooding friend. "So why didn't you?"

"What?" Regina shot back, confused. Their conversation had taken a backseat while she visualised the look of pure fear that had crossed the blonde's face when she'd realised exactly what she'd said.

"Hit her?" Prompted Tracy, with a playful nudge of her shoulder. Violence might not be the answer for everyone but nine times out of ten it would be the brunette's. In some shape or form. It was simply the default reaction. More specifically, a _learned_ reaction.

"For insinuating something true?" Granted, Regina hadn't actually said the blonde's assumption happened to be right. However, she was smart enough to know that the girl obviously knew it, with or without any confirmation on her part. That's why she'd panicked and fumbled blindly with the car door handle. "What would be the point in that?"

"Huh" Came the puzzled response from Tracy, complete with raised eyebrows. A ghost of a smile toyed at the corners of her mouth as she breathed out a cryptic, "Interesting."

Regina shot her an ephemeral scowl before stating firmly, "_Nothing_ about this is interesting." As if on cue her phone blared to life from within her pocket and she grunted her disapproval when she pulled it out to see the caller I.D. Rather than simply decline the call, she turned the device off entirely so that she wouldn't have to deal with any further attempts at contact.

"Actually it is." Tracy emphasised her point with a slight nod towards the cell phone being shoved roughly back into her friends pocket. One thing was certain, her curiosity about who the girl was had just gone up. "When have you _ever_ needed a valid reason to strike out at someone who offends you?"

"_All_ my reasons are valid." Regina snapped back, then promptly brushed her fingers through her hair as if to defuse the tension coiled through her body. If she stopped to consider it then she'd be faced with the truth of her friend's words. For that reason alone, she wouldn't allow herself to dwell on it. Instead she added tersely, "She just isn't worth it."

Tracy gave her a skeptical look then shrugged. "If you say so." The casual tone said loud and clear that she didn't believe a word the brunette had just said.

"I do say so." The conversation had began to claw away at the inside of her skull. Regina's temper rarely flared up around Tracy, but her patience was starting to wear thin.

Narrowed eyes regarded the brunette suspiciously. The walls surrounding the brunette were plentiful and varied. Tracy didn't break them down over time, she'd been let inside gradually, and she knew she was pushing her luck. "Then why were you muttering?"

"I was wrong, _you're_ infuriating." The look Regina gave the blonde said as much, but her tone lacked the viciousness her eyes tried to convey. "She's just annoying."

Tracy merely grinned and cocked her head to the side. "No, I'm your friend, there's a difference."

"Perhaps I should change my mind on that too." Regina fired back without any hint of hesitation. Though as she glanced at her friend she found herself reluctantly returning the smile, small as it may be.

The grin Tracy wore turned positively triumphant and she carried on boldly, "You can say that all you want because I know you don't mean it." Now that she'd gotten the gist of it there was no real harm in outright asking. If Regina hadn't shared any information to begin with she'd have let the topic drop faster than a hot pan clutched in glove-less hands. "What happened?"

Lips pressed together as Regina replayed the incident over in her mind. Finally, after a long moment of silence, she shook her head and cast her gaze towards the sky. "She called me something stupid."

"And this hurt your feelings?" While Regina liked to pretend that her skin was bullet proof, Tracy knew better. Under the hostile personality shown to the rest of world lurked a surprisingly vulnerable girl that the brunette kept hidden away. Protected; the only way she knew how.

"Don't be ridiculous, it takes a lot more than rainbows to do that." Scoffed the brunette with an incredulous look. It wasn't as if she'd be losing sleep over anything that had been said. No, the blonde resembled a patch of dry skin. Mildly irritating, distracting to look at but otherwise harmless.

What did rainbows have to do with hurt feelings? Tracy gave the brunette a peculiar side glance then felt the pieces of this particular puzzle slot into place. Rainbows weren't the issue, it's what they represented. "Okay, so it bothered you?"

"No." From the way she sighed it out Regina was more weary than she was aggravated, but whether that had to do with the conversation or the fact that she was now going over it all in her head was debatable. "The implied insult behind it annoyed me, that's all."

One way or another, Tracy would get to the bottom of it because if this girl had thrown Regina's sexual proclivities in her face in some way and walked away with her face in tact… Either the brunette was planning to murder her or she was learning to deal with her anger in other ways. "So what was the implied insult?"

Regina's lips twisted into a slight cringe, as if she suddenly had a bad taste in her mouth and couldn't just spit it out. "It was more in the way she said it than the actual words."

"What, like condescending?" Tracy supplied with ease as she watched her friend to try and gauge her reaction.

The corners of Regina's lips twitched upward as she raised her chin as if ready to walk into battle. Fire danced within the depths of her eyes as she announced, "Accusatory." Her voice had taken on a deeper, dangerous quality.

"Even better." Tracy said, wide eyed as she kept her pace next to the brunette. "So then what happened?"

Regina flashed a cold smirk and brushed a few strands of hair out of her vision. "I advised her which story to use for inspiration, then I walked away."

Tracy waited for a beat, expecting more to the story. When nothing came she couldn't help the deadpan way she asked, "That's it?"

"That's it." Confirmed Regina with another, far more amused, smirk. Evidently she felt quite pleased with herself and how she'd handled the situation.

"She insulted you and you gave her advice?" That couldn't be right. Occasionally the brunette could let things go but those were under extreme circumstances. Grudges were practically ingrained into the bone. "What am I missing here? I know I'm missing something."

"I didn't cut her brakes if that's what you're thinking." Though that happened to be quite a sinister thing it had been said with mirth. Yes, her reaction might have been lenient in pain and while she acknowledged that on some level she chose to believe she took a far better route. "I might have expressed my own insult, of sorts, through observation."

"Uh huh, and that would have taken form in the guise of a story?" Of course the advice given would be the retaliation. Tracy felt foolish for not coming to that conclusion earlier. Damn it, she had known Regina wouldn't just walk off without doing _something_.

"Precisely." Regina's tone held no warmth, but the smile she wore for her friend finally catching on was nothing but genuine.

They hadn't really talked about many stories by the time they'd gotten to the art supplies, their focus had shifted to being quiet and alert. Devious minds did not have time to swap children's stories. "Which one did you tell her to use?"

The fingers of Regina's right hand curled under the bag strap that rested against her shoulder. She gave a satisfied little hum before murmuring wickedly, "Alice In Wonderland."

Tracy, clearly confused, scrunched up her features and turned to the brunette. "Is she in the habit of chasing after wildlife and falling down holes?" That would explain why her friend hadn't thumped her black and blue. If the girl was a liability to herself anyway, why go to the trouble of what would happen naturally?

"How the hell should I know?" Regina snorted, as if it were frankly absurd that she'd even had to say such a thing. Though, really, she wouldn't put it past the blonde.

"Then I don't understand how you could offend her with it." Tracy finally admitted with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Quite simple really." Regina began, in a tone that contained far too much wistfulness to be considered friendly. "Alice is this naive little blonde thing that has no concept of the world she's in, utterly lost and confused. Terrified of the changes taking place around her and ultimately within her, wondering how she'll fit in. Coupled with the stress of never knowing if she'll get back home, a place of familiarity where she belongs. And if she does get home, will she still be the same girl? Or someone different that others will point at and murmur behind her back? Will she still belong at the end of her adventure once she discovers who she truly is inside?"

Tracy's mouth hung open slightly, torn between wanting to laugh and wanting to find out what _exactly_ the hidden meaning behind those words were. "Did you _actually_ say all that to her?"

Regina shook her head with a slight laugh. It would have been easy enough to say every last syllable to her face but where was the fun in that? "Of course not. Just the part about Alice being lost and confused."

"But you think she'll understand what you meant later." It wasn't a question so much as a vocal realisation. Tracy felt herself grin as she let out a slow breath. "Regina, that's kind of badass."

"Well I _am_ The Evil Queen after all." The brunette said with a mock bow and devilish smirk.

"Exactly." Tracy laughed, and linked her arm through Regina's to pull her into the alley they'd been heading for. "Now come on, your Majesty, I have an hour before I'm meant to be home and I need you to spot me."

* * *

The drive home hadn't been nearly as relaxing as she'd hoped it would be. The sunshine that had been so wonderful minutes ago appeared to be mocking her, but at least Emma got home before her parents returned from work. It gave her a chance to change without having to answer questions she really had no answers for. That wasn't exactly true, she had answers, she just didn't particularly want to think about them or what they meant. Impulse. It had just been an impulse. So why did she still feel like shit? The blonde's mood reflected in her choice of sweat pants and simple baggy t-shirt as she shuffled around her room with various books before heading downstairs to get started on her homework. She'd barely picked up a pen before she glanced at the clock, then picked her phone up to call the brunette. It got four rings then went dead. No answer machine. With a frown she called back and got an automated message stating that it wasn't possible to connect her call, the phone might be switched off or out of service. Well… That had hurt… It shouldn't have, but it did, and that bothered her considerably.

Emma pushed her phone away and got up to grab a glass of water as she browsed the work to be done. Biology got tackled first. Half an hour and it had been finished and double checked. Math didn't take very long either, but she'd hesitated with the essay for English. Barely a page written later and her mother walked through the door with a bag of groceries. Emma could have kissed her for the distraction, and jumped up to grab the bag from her arms. "Hi mom, I've got this if you want to sit down."

"Oh! I didn't expect you home so soon, usually you're out with Ruby." Mary Margaret's smile was bemused as she handed over the bag. With a tilt of her head she frowned slightly at the sweatpants when her daughter turned to unpack. "Is everything okay?" Then she smiled a little more knowingly and whispered, even though they were alone in the house, "That time of the month again?"

"Ruby had other plans and I had homework anyway, no big deal." The response was automatic as Emma took out a carton of eggs and a block of cheese. Both were quickly stashed inside the fridge, along with the yogurt, orange juice, and various fresh vegetables that Emma liked to complain about yet ate anyway. The last two things at the bottom of the bag were ice cream, a chocolate kind her father enjoyed and a mint one that she favoured. Though they almost dropped from her hands when she twirled to face her mother with a look of disgusted horror, "What? Mom, _no!_"

Mary Margaret held her hands up as she side stepped her teenage daughter to reach for the box of tea on the counter. "If it's not that then it's something, you never wear those unless you feel under the weather." She leveled Emma with a look that said she knew her far better than she realised, then filled the kettle. "You want a hot chocolate before we get started on dinner?"

"What does that even mean?" Emma huffed out as she shut the freezer. "We're all technically _under the weather_. Gravity kind of makes sure of that." The attempt to change topics had been futile but if she was going to sulk then she might as well commit to it. The blonde narrowed her eyes at her mother and crossed her arms as she considered the offer. On one hand she knew it was a bribe to spill whatever was bothering her, and on the other it was sugary goodness that she really wanted. "Okay, but that doesn't mean I want to talk."

"I know that. Get the cinnamon and I'll bring it over in a minute." Mary Margaret didn't fight her daughter because she knew half the battle had already been won. Emma wanted to talk, and she would. All that truly mattered was that she was there to listen and not judge. They were close as a family, and strong as a team. Whatever teenage drama had taken place her daughter would be fine. She was sure of it.

Emma sorted all her books into one neat stack before she grabbed the cinnamon and sat back at the table. Absently her finger tips tapped out a rhythm against the container as if trying to casually drown out her thoughts. When her mother slid the mug across the table and sat down to face her Emma ignored the woman and shook out a red dusting to cover the top of her whipped cream. They both sipped at their drinks in silence.

Mary Margaret busied herself by flicking through a magazine and avoided paying any attention to her daughter. This was part of the waiting game. She gave her space and eventually the blonde would speak her mind. It was a dance they'd done countless times before.

Emma had drank almost half of her hot chocolate by the time she had worked up the courage to finally blurt out, "I said something really stupid to someone at school and I feel bad about it."

"Ah." Mary Margaret nodded lightly and clasped her hands around her tea cup, all pretense of reading the article on pomegranates completely forgotten. "What did you say?"

Emma studied the cream stuck to the inside of her mug and mumbled, "That's beside the point." The silent _what do I do_ was heavily implied as she cast her pleading gaze to her mother.

"Well did you apologise to this person?" Over the years she'd learned when to dig for information and when to back off. Whatever had been said was either incredibly mean, which didn't sound like her daughter at all, or it embarrassed Emma enough to make her feel ashamed to say it again. _That_ sounded like her daughter. She was at that awkward stage that David liked to call Foot In Mouth Syndrome. Where her tongue worked faster than her mind.

Emma chewed the inside of her lip and frowned down at her mug. "No. Well I mean, I tried too, but they turned their phone off when I called." The blonde cringed and let her head fall into her supine hands. "It's not like we're even friends, this shouldn't matter."

Mary Margaret watched her daughter with slight inclination of her head and stated, "Yes it should. You said something you know in your heart was wrong, so now you need to make amends. That's part of growing up, you own your mistakes and move on from them."

"You make it sound so easy. I can't just walk up to them tomorrow and say 'Hey remember yesterday when I said that thing? My bad.' I'll probably end up punched." Emma's frown deepened as she thought back to the anger that had flashed through the brunette's eyes. Then strayed to feeling her breath against her lips. The blonde cleared her throat as if to dislodge the memory before she blushed. "Obviously they don't want to hear from me or they'd have picked up when I called."

"People are different when it comes to hurt feelings, Emma. Just because they don't want to talk to you now doesn't mean they don't want to talk to you tomorrow." Although the idea of her daughter coming home with a black eye did not appeal to her motherly instincts. "So, if talking is out of the question then you do something else. Extend an olive branch of sorts. If they don't accept it then at least you know you tried to do the right thing."

"An olive branch. Seriously mom?" Emma doubted a whole damn tree would make a difference but what did she have to lose at this point? Other than her dignity and teeth? No, if Regina had wanted to hit her, she would have. Instead she'd just called her lost and confused, which she wasn't. Not really. Emma knew who she was. Didn't she? She wasn't some silly little girl that was for sure. Alice? That was absurd, she was nothing like her. Since when had she ever fallen into another world and wound up talking to a caterpillar? Unless she meant the journey the girl took internally because… They'd texted about symbolism the night before. Huh. So when she'd said lost and confused, she didn't mean mentally, she meant…

"Are you listening to me?" Mary Margaret asked softly, head bowed to try and catch her daughter's gaze. She'd zoned out for barely ten seconds but it was enough to cause concern.

Emma blinked a few times when she was roused from her thoughts, a red tinge swept up her neck and she cleared her throat again. The blonde pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose with an apologetic grimace. "Sorry, I was stuck on the olive branch thing, what were you saying?"

Mary Margaret rolled her eyes at her daughter and stood up from the table. "I said that in my experience the best way to say you're sorry and let the person know you mean it is to make them something. So after dinner, we bake."

"You can't be serious, I hardly know them, I can't just bake them a cake they'll laugh in my face!" Panic coiled around Emma's ankles like ice water, the chill seeped into her skin and left her legs feeling like lead. "I don't even know what they like." She was going to have to change school. It was the only way out of this nightmare she'd created.

"Stop overreacting Emma, I never said anything about cakes." Chided Mary Margaret, honestly sometimes her daughter got stressed over the smallest of things but then everything felt like life or death at that age, didn't it? "Now think, you must know something they like. What do they have for lunch?"

"Apples." The word escaped Emma's throat before she even consciously thought of it. She'd watched as Regina stuffed one into her pocket in the alley. Back in the parking lot the scent of her breath had been of the fruit. "They like apples."

"See, that wasn't so hard was it?" The smile she gave the blonde was filled with love and a little amusement. "We'll make apple danishes for dessert tonight and we'll put one in the fridge uncooked. I'll pop it in the oven tomorrow before I head out and that way it'll be fresh to hand over at lunch."

Emma hesitated before she stood up to join her mother at the kitchen counter. "You really think it'll work?" She asked as casually as she could while reaching for the chopping board as vegetables were selected from the fridge.

"There's no harm in trying." Came the offhanded remark as Mary Margaret handed over an onion. "Look on the bright side Emma, if it doesn't, you can eat it on the way home."

* * *

The sound of the front door shutting happened five minutes after Regina had entered her bedroom. The brunette had taken off her white sweater and tugged the black t-shirt back on after she'd put her bag away. The sketch book had been hidden hurriedly under her mattress because there was no time to hide it anywhere else and her phone had been tossed haphazardly onto her dresser. With a quick glance in the mirror she smoothed down her shirt and fluffed her hair lightly with her fingers. If she'd learned anything over the months it was that Cora expected her to look presentable. The last time she'd came downstairs with a sweater under a short sleeved shirt she'd watched them burn in the fireplace. Apparently ladies didn't dress like men, whatever the hell that meant. Though the woman detested jeans she had been swayed to accept that they were practical for school given that the material was so durable. Only when company was expected or they had to go out together did the elder brunette insist on more appropriate clothing. Usually hand picked. Usually hated by Regina. Usually skirts or dresses that required heels. The first few times she'd fallen or tripped had resulted in several hours at night of walking back and forth within the house until she'd gotten the hang of it and Cora had deemed her posture sufficient enough to not embarrass her any longer. It had taken weeks.

The brunette sucked in a deep breath and forced herself to walk as quietly as she could down the stairs. Heavy footsteps were likely to land her another lecture and she didn't have the patience for that today. Carefully she made her way towards the kitchen and peeked around the door-frame.

"Stop skulking, Regina, it's improper." The soft tones of Cora's voice were deceptively sweet as the elder brunette poured herself a glass of red wine and swirled the contents slowly. She closed her eyes and sniffed at the rich liquid, savouring the mixture of scents. Only then did she take a sip and direct her cold gaze on the younger girl. "Well, come here, don't just stand there." The woman admonished impatiently.

Either Cora had had a bad day, or a rather good one. Regina had learned quickly that it didn't actually matter which, they never truly changed anything. Not when it came to her. "Yes… _Mother._" The word would never roll off her tongue naturally and every time she was forced to say it, it felt like she died a little inside. Something bitter grew within her at every use, and the troubling thing was that she seriously believed that was _why_ Cora demanded she use it. Reluctantly she made her way over to the woman.

Cora watched like a hawk observing it's prey. Amusement swirled in her eyes and tugged at the corners of her lips. The wine glass soon found itself set aside so that the woman could reach out and capture the girl's chin to tilt her head back. Cold eyes studied the scab with detached interest. She tutted quietly, as if this were Regina's fault and not her own. "This is what happens when you test my patience. You will learn eventually, that I do this for you, my dear." The tip of her thumb nail scraped at the top of the scab and caught the end of it. Without any hint of remorse the elder ripped it away. "It will scar once it's healed. A physical reminder that shall stay with you forever."

Regina let out a hissed whimper of pain as her eyes filled with tears. Though her body desperately tried to recoil she forced herself to stay rooted to the spot. If she pulled away, she'd only make it worse for herself. So she blinked away the salt water that stung her eyes and clenched her teeth as the burning throb internalised. The anger she felt simmered to a slow, numbing, emptiness as she felt crimson trickle against her lower lip slowly. Every cell in her body screamed for her to fight but she wouldn't, not right now. Not over a tiny freshly opened wound because that was exactly what the woman wanted. Regina managed to keep a level of control, a silent defiance, her own way of saying she wouldn't be broken completely. Not by Cora, not by anyone.

Bored with the way Regina simply stared back at her, Cora released her grip on the girls chin and discarded the scab into a hanky before depositing it in the trash and washing her hands. "The car needs to be cleaned." She said with a bit of a sniff. "Dinner shall be served at six o'clock. I expect it to be spotless by then and not a minute later."

The dismissal had been all Regina had wanted to hear, but the choir had her sighing as she ran upstairs to the bathroom to check the damage done. No tears had fallen yet her eyes were red all the same, and she glared at her reflection. Steady fingers opened the medicine cabinet and pulled free a cotton ball. She doused it with saline solution and began to wipe away the blood. Once the wound was clean she slathered a layer of antiseptic cream against it with a hiss of pain. The way she moved around the bathroom and placed things back where they belonged seemed almost ritualistic.

When Regina checked her watch she realised she only had forty minutes to get the car sparkling before she sat down to eat. By the time she'd filled a bucket with warm soapy water and located the sponge she had half an hour left. Though the work was tedious she could at least listen to her music, and that somehow lessened the burden. Time ticked away as she worked, minutes passing quickly as she whispered along under her breath.

Sweaty and half soaked from effort, Regina emptied the rest of the water in the bucket over the car and let it drain down the driveway. The sponge and bucket got shoved back into the garage before she ran into the house and straight into the dining room. The brunette sighed with relief to see two plates laid out, some sort of chicken medley with a heap of potatoes and greens on the side. She'd only just sat down and lifted a forkful when Cora walked in.

"Don't." The sharp way it had been said didn't match the almost tender look the elder woman's face mimicked as she sat down smiled towards Regina.

Unable to contain the confusion the young brunette pointed towards the window with an exasperated, "I washed the car, it's practically a mirror with wheels."

Cora's smile didn't waver as she lifted a forkful of her own dinner and chewed with a hum of satisfaction. "Yes, and I specifically told you to be done by six and not a minute later." She said slowly, as if the girl were a toddler and needed things to be explained in such a manner.

Regina glanced at the clock and felt indignation bubbling up as she all but spat out, "It's only three minutes past, I had to put the bucket away. You can't be serious that's..." She trailed off, fingers curling into fists so that short nails could dig into her palms.

"Not a minute later. As you so helpfully pointed out, you were three minutes late. We live by rules for a reason, Regina. Without them we're nothing more than beasts." Cora's tone sounded light, happy, as she took a sip of water and motioned towards the girl currently glaring at her. "You may clear your plate into the trash and wash it. While you're at it wipe that look off of your face. If you'd been more competent you wouldn't be going hungry, Regina. Time management is something we all must master."

If justice truly existed then Regina would have witnessed the woman choke to death, but since it never happened she stood up and took her plate with her. She'd made the mistake of nibbling on meals before they were tossed out, only twice when she had been told not too. There wouldn't be a third time, it simply hadn't been worth it. She scraped away the food and watched it forlornly tumble into the trash before scrubbing the plate and cutlery clean. Then she dried each item and put them away with a permanent scowl on her face.

Silently she retreated to her room, where she took out her frustration on the unsuspecting pillow. Calm once more, she pulled out the bottom drawer of her dresser and reached upwards to feel around the base of the drawer directly above it. With a few gentle tugs she pulled away three granola bars she'd taped there a few weeks ago. Various things had been hidden within her room. She was fairly certain she still had a candy bar tucked inside a pair of socks, that were tucked inside the leg of her jeans, at the bottom of one of her cabinets.

After she'd ate them she went for a long shower to wash away her turbulent emotions. At least she couldn't be faulted for keeping good hygiene. It was, perhaps, the only thing Cora never criticized. The rest of the evening was spent drawing until she could no longer see clearly. Pages of violence, some detailed to release anger, some cartoonish to lighten her mood. Such as the smiling muffin sporting a tiara being chased around a café, narrowly dodging forks that lunged at it. When she finally curled up in bed she turned her cell phone back on, and was both relieved and mildly disappointed to note she had no texts waiting.


	4. Chapter 4

Daylight spilled through the crack of the curtains, banishing shadows back to corners like a crucifix expelling demons. Regina blinked the room into focus then swung her legs out of bed to grab her cell phone. The alarm hadn't gone off, but something had woken her. It was barely seven in the morning as she fixed her bed and crept into the hallway. Sounds from downstairs alerted her to Cora's whereabouts and she debated whether or not to venture into her path or make herself scarce. Curiosity won out in the end and she made her way down stairs slowly in the over sized t-shirt and shorts she wore as pajamas. The elder brunette stood by the kitchen island with a mug of coffee, her back to the door. Nervously the younger brunette used the tip of her tongue to trace the fresh scab above her lip, though she wasn't conscious of it. She backed away quietly to scope out the front door, and sure enough, there was a bag resting against the wall next to it. Regina entered the kitchen cautiously and warily eyed the woman as she turned to glance at her.

"My presence is required out of state." The elder began gravely. Through work she had accumulated power, and while it didn't bother her to leave, it bothered her to know Regina would remain here. Unsupervised amongst her belongings. In her home once again without a guiding hand to curb the insolence that flowed beneath the surface of such deceptively innocent features.

That kind of news always made Regina happy, but she couldn't let it show. Not if she wished to be left to her own devices for however long the woman would be gone. She viewed these moments as mini vacations, though she herself never left, it gave her the space she so craved to simply be herself. "How long will you be gone?" Regina's voice came out soft, tentative almost, as if she were trying not to get her hopes up.

Cora of course, could see right through the calm façade and narrowed her eyes in annoyance. She gave the girl a roof over her head, taught her how to act like a lady, and what kind of thanks did she receive? It made her blood boil. How utterly ungrateful the teenager happened to be was nothing short of infuriating, yet, there was nothing to be done at this point in time. Eventually, though, she would extinguish that fire that burned within those dark eyes and be left with a girl she could shape into something worthy of sharing her name. The girl was like a wild mare at heart, and sooner or later, Cora would break her. "I shall return in six days. I expect you to attend school in the meantime and under no circumstances are you to cause trouble, Regina. If I so much as receive one phone call of your disobedience there won't be a place on earth that you could hide from punishment. Do I make myself clear?"

Oh, Regina had learned the very first time after she'd skipped school to try and hike her way out of this foster home, only to wind up being tracked down by a very angry, very persistent Cora. She'd barely been gone two days when the woman had retrieved her and hauled her back. The entire month after she'd been brought _home_ had resulted in every waking moment being locked in the basement when she wasn't at school or using the bathroom. The idea of it happening again made her skin crawl and she fought the urge to sneer. That had been when she'd first been placed with the woman, before she'd met Tracy, someone she could actually call a real friend. Regina did the math, and established that Cora would be gone until Tuesday. "Crystal." She eventually murmured, already thinking about what she could do without the woman around.

"The basement shall remain your domain, Regina. Those you invite over are not to touch anything in any other room and are certainly not to set foot upstairs unless it's the bathroom. If I find so much as one thing out of place when I come home, the next time I must travel I will hire a babysitter and strip you of such privileges. I expect you to abide by these rules or face further restrictions in the future." Cora would never be described as foolish. She knew very well that the girl's deviant ways would simply flourish in her absence, but the trick was to contain them. If the basement were a place for her activities then it created a false sense of security for the days she would not be here. It granted a reprieve and stalled any idea's of running off again like some misguided animal. Instead the elder merely changed the cage. The illusion of freedom was a powerful thing. A tool that could be wielded by the elder to enforce dominance without the need to lift a finger. Granting Regina this space alluded to trust, and by gaining trust, Cora would gain power. That, in the end, was all that mattered. "Now get ready for school. I will see you in six days."

Without another word Regina ran back up the stairs. For the first time in weeks she felt free, and the excitement tingled through her body like an electrical current. She could stay up and do whatever she wanted. She could invite Tracy over. They could watch movies and make art and drink and laugh and be themselves without any pressure to fill certain roles within the house when Cora supervised their activities. She could raid the fridge and the pantry. No, she wouldn't do that. She'd buy her own food, so that when Cora returned she couldn't fault her for cleaning out her cupboards like a vindictive little chipmunk guzzling what it could. Regina had never been given allowance, from any home she'd been in, but she could stand in the crowded streets and spray paint pictures for people who gladly handed over money to take one home. She had her own savings in an account Cora knew nothing about. Savings that she planned on using once she graduated to get the hell away from here because after the school year was up she was officially out of the foster system and nobody, not even Cora, could tie her down then.

Cora left without so much as a goodbye. The slam of the door the only signal of her absence, like a starting pistol that echoed through the large house. Mansion, really, but beyond the decadence it held no true warmth. It would never _feel_ like home. Regina waited for the sound of the Mercedes as it roared to life then quieted to a soft purr of the engine. When silence lingered for a full minute after the woman had driven off, Regina threw her hands into the air and twirled around her room. Rich laughter escaped as she flung herself backwards onto her bed to gaze up at the ceiling. She could wear what she wanted without fear of it being destroyed on sight. Not that she particularly had anything extravagant, but a few hoodies and t-shirts that sported bands Cora found offensive.

After she had gone through her closet and shimmied into the black jeans she so adored with the multitude of zippers, she pulled on a nice, rather tight fitting, t-shirt that sported five cyan faced, yellow eyed dolls, crudely sewn together. Three with green hair, one with orange and another with black. All with zippers pulled shut for teeth, shackled and stuffed into straight jackets within a padded cell. In white written at the top near the barred window, in the middle of the five dolls, were the words _KoЯn Issues_. Regina let her hands smooth down the black material fondly, she'd missed wearing these clothes. Next were her ankle boots, and as she paused to look at herself in the mirror she realised she could actually apply some eyeliner and shadow and a dash of dark lipstick without being dragged into the bathroom to scrub her face clean. For what felt like the first time in weeks, she grinned at her own reflection instead of glaring at it.

* * *

Across town Emma had surfaced closer to eight, in a blind panic as she realised that both her parents had already left and she would be cutting it close to get herself ready for school. The sheets had tangled around her lithe frame as she slept and her pajamas stuck to her skin, still sticky with the cold sweat she'd woken up in. The fragments of her dream were slipping through her grasp like grains of sand but she recalled bits and pieces. Vivid fear as she ran through the school corridors. Jeering faces with outstretched hands had all pointed towards her. Mocking laughter hit her along with scrunched up balls of paper and books thrown by those who watched her flee out of the building. The next thing she could remember was being shunned by Ruby and Belle in the café they frequented. Then an onslaught of hands grasping at her, blocking her vision. Brief flickers of her mom and dad's disappointed faces and a door being closed in her face. Then she'd turned to find herself standing in alley, face to face with a hooded figure with such familiar dark eyes that seemed to bore into her soul. When Emma turned to the wall she was met with a painting of herself in a wedding dress, Neal clutched her to his chest. A haughty, muffled, whisper of _happy now?_ She'd woken immediately with a dying yell of _no_ on her lips.

Clammy hands rubbed her face and wiped the sleep from her eyes, she didn't even reach for her glasses as she shot out of bed and straight into a shower. The hot water helped to cleanse her mind as much as her skin and Emma felt infinitely better once she stepped back out. She wiped a wet palm across the foggy mirror and squinted at her reflection. To hell with contacts today, she didn't have time to accidentally poke her own eyes out. The blonde brushed her teeth with the kind of speed reserved for criminals on the run then dashed back into her room. Where she simultaneously blow dried her hair and tried to get dressed. Underwear was a breeze but the skinny jeans took both hands to yank up. A simple white tank top was shrugged on and she paused to find a dark green button up shirt to slip on over it. Once her hair was relatively dry she put on her glasses and laced up her boots. The breakfast doughnut her father had left behind was ignored as she opened the oven to get the apple danish. The note on the counter from her mom reminded her to drizzle icing on it. Emma hurriedly went about mixing some up and selected a small plastic sandwich bag to pour it into. With care she snipped the very tip of a corner off and used it as a makeshift piping bag to write _I'm sorry_ across the top of the pasty. Then, on impulse, she grabbed her glazed doughnut and wrote another message. Quick fingers discarded the rest of the icing in the bin and snagged a small plastic tub to place the danish inside. Then she stuffed it into a brown lunch bag and placed the doughnut on top of it so that it wouldn't get squished. Emma checked her watch, grabbed her own lunch her mom had set on the counter, and ran out of the house as if she were on fire.

By some miracle she'd made it on time and then spent the entire morning wondering if the teachers were putting the clocks back because time felt like it was dragging on. Except of course, when there happened to be half an hour before lunch. Time had somehow began to speed up at that point and Emma had increasingly felt her eyes straying to the clock on the wall as if willing it to slow down. Nobody knew her plan of handing over the bag but that made her nerves worse. What if Regina made a scene? What if someone saw her and questioned _why_ she was dropping off food. What if her friends saw her? This was so stupid. Yet her heart threatened to explode at any second from stress. Which didn't even make sense, really. Emma wiped her sweaty palms against her jeans and nearly leapt through the ceiling when the bell went.

The cafeteria resembled a hive, everybody swarmed towards it, the buzz of chatter almost deafening. Emma drowned the noise out by focusing all her attention on finding the brunette before her friends entered. When she caught sight of the girl she let out a relieved breath. Once she noticed she sat alone the blonde made her move. She clutched her own lunch in her left hand and the other in her right, and as nonchalantly as she could manage without drawing any attention to herself she strode by the table and set the bag in front of Regina as she carried on walking to the vending machine. Truth be told she didn't really want or need a soda but the fact that it took her to the other side of the cafeteria and gave her friends a chance to find a table she could join was all the excuse she needed. Unfortunately after she'd grabbed a can and headed back towards the tables, she got waved over by Ruby who patted the seat next to her. Normally this made her grin, but when she realised Regina would be sitting at the table behind Belle, and she'd be _facing_ her by sitting next to Ruby, she almost offered her soul to whichever deity opened the floor up to swallow her first.

* * *

From her peripheral vision she watched the blonde walk off and cocked her head at the bag that now sat in front of her tray. Nobody appeared to notice where it had come from let alone from who, and she eyed it suspiciously for a long moment. Nimble fingers itched to open the bag to find out what it contained yet instead of reaching for it she lifted up her fork to scoop up some mashed potatoes and peas. She'd only began to chew them when she noticed the hesitant blonde reluctantly take the seat her friend motioned towards, and quirked an eyebrow when those green eyes flicked tentatively towards her then away just as quickly. A rosy tint coloured the blonde's cheeks and the brunette wondered why. Was it because she now had to face her, or because of what the bag contained? Maybe it was simply because of their exchange in the parking lot. Whatever the reason, Regina intentionally ignored what had been deposited on the table and went back to pushing peas around her plate.

"What did you bring?" Tracy inquired the instant she made her way over with her own tray of food. Fries, onion rings and a cheeseburger complete with a little tub of jello on the side. She settled into the seat next to the brunette and popped open her soda. The faint hiss of bubbles as they burst sounded like a tiny little trapped snake.

Regina gave a one shoulder shrug and cut into the mystery burrito to inspect it's innards. "I didn't bring it." She said absently and lifted a chunk with her fork to sniff at before daring to chew it. It wasn't awful, but she went back to eating the peas first in the hopes that they would actually grant nutrition. "It was given to me." Well, she assumed it had been given to her, really it was more of a walk by drop off.

The blonde glanced at her curiously and popped a fry into her mouth. "From who?" When all she got in response was a non committal sniff, Tracy rolled her eyes. She crunched her way through another few fries then gave an exaggerated sigh. "Aren't you at least going to look inside it?"

Regina glanced towards the blonde at the other table and muttered under her breath, "It had crossed my mind." Emma appeared to be pointedly looking down at her own lunch, either unwilling or afraid to look in the brunette's direction. Even from where she sat, Regina could see that the girl was completely tense.

"Well go on, if you don't I will." Tracy gave a half hearted threat as she picked up her burger and nodded towards the bag. One bite later and she wiped her hands on a napkin to mock reach for the brown paper bag, knowing full well that her friend would take the bait.

Regina instinctively grabbed the bag first and took a moment to just glance at Emma sitting at the other table. Though she hadn't looked over she seemed unnaturally still, as if she were watching surreptitiously. Now she really wanted to know what was inside if it caused that kind of reaction. The brunette opened the bag carefully, as if it could potentially contain some sort of explosive and peeked inside. With a frown she took out the doughnut and set it aside to lift out the small tub. When she pulled the lid off with a pop she swore she saw the blonde cringe.

"Is that pastry apologising to you?" Tracy almost laughed as she leaned across to peer inside the tub. Then she sniffed loudly and sank back in her seat with a simple, "Smells really nice though." The penny dropped just as she was about to pop an onion ring into her mouth, and she hesitated, "Wait, this is from the girl that had you muttering yesterday, isn't it?"

Though she concealed the way she felt at spotting the words she couldn't help but scoff as her friend accurately put two and two together. "Perhaps." Regina said, and brought the doughnut over for inspection. This time she couldn't quite contain her amusement and her lips twitched into a crooked grin as she shook her head. Written in icing were the words _I was an ass_ followed by a little arrow pointing to the hole in the middle.

Tracy wasn't quite so subtle as she let out a loud laugh and nudged the brunette with her elbow. "Did she just call herself an asshole via the means of doughnut?"

"I believe so, yes." Admitted Regina as she took out her cell phone to scroll through the contacts list. Out of her friends sight she typed up a quick message and hit send. **Did you make these?**

Tracy seemed content to eat her lunch while giving Regina amused glances every now and then. Whatever she was thinking she kept to herself for the time being, but would no doubt be hounding her friend for details the second they were alone.

Emma visibly relaxed in her seat when she read the text and actually took the first bite of her cold grilled cheese in relief that she hadn't been humiliated in public. _I made the apple danish, not the doughnut though._

The quick response caused the corners of Regina's mouth to quirk, but she paused to finish off her peas or else Tracy would be alerted to the fact that she was communicating with the girl. Not that it really made a difference to her, but she'd scan the crowd and no doubt spot the blonde across from them fairly quickly. Given Emma's inability to hide her emotions. **Good, then I don't have to eat it. The danish looks… Edible.**

In between nodding to whatever Ruby said and nibbling on her lunch, Emma managed to steal glances at the brunette and shot her a scowl when she read her latest text. Of course it was edible, what did she think she'd do, poison it? Then it hit her, that this was probably the brunette's own way of giving a compliment without _actually_ giving a compliment. Guarded didn't even begin to describe Regina. With a roll of her eyes she messaged back. _What's wrong with the doughnut? I sacrificed my snack for that message, you have to at least take a bite or I don't know, give it to your friend. Don't just waste it._

Regina quirked a haughty eyebrow at the girl at the table across from her and regarded the message once again. Then she set her phone down, the screen against the table, deliberately knowing the blonde would see it. Then she ate a forkful of mash potatoes and turned to Tracy. "Cora left this morning. If you want to come over we'll have free reign, so to speak." Then she picked up her phone and shot a quick, albeit devilish, message back to the blonde for no other reason than to see how she'd react in such a public setting. **Nothing, but since I'm not in the habit of eating asshole's I don't see why I should start with yours. Or is that your subtle way of saying it's 'tasty' like your 'muffin'?**

"I like that plan." Tracy grinned around the half chewed fry and nodded enthusiastically. "Count me in." At the other table Emma read the text and her eyes widened in horror. She tried to shrink down as if it had been said out loud and curled in on herself like a hedgehog. Hunched shoulders almost collided with the table as heat spread up her neck like a rash, leaving the skin a dark, ruddy red as she avoided her friends curious gazes and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Emma's mind suffered the intrusion of inadvertently imagining the brunette doing _exactly_ that and she rubbed one hand across her face in dismay. The only silver lining was that she hadn't been eating or drinking as she opened the message. Outraged at the reaction her own body had and more so at Regina for implanting the thought in her head, she clenched her teeth and typed back hurriedly. _You're out of your mind. I never meant any of it like that! Why would you even think that? I was trying to apologise!_

The blonde's reaction did not disappoint. The array of emotions that washed across Emma's features evoked a wicked smile from Regina, who blatantly watched the way the girl all but hugged the table and squirmed. When she finally received a message in return she knew it would be an indignant little rant. It made the vulgarity worthwhile. The girl was incredibly easy to tease. **Oh I know, but I wanted to watch you writhe uneasily before I accepted your apology. I succeeded rather considerably.**

If Emma hadn't been so acutely aware of her friends chatting next to her she might have thrown her hands in the air and let out throaty growl of frustration. Instead, she took a deep breath, pushed up her glasses, and squared her shoulders as if ready to walk into a fight. The message she sent back was given with a glare. _You're seriously twisted, do you know that?_

Regina read the text and flashed a bright, toothy smile at the blonde as if she were proud. Then she turned her attention back to her tray and opened her carton of skimmed milk to take a sip. When she responded it was with an amused quirk of her eyebrow. **You have no idea. Did you pick a theme yet?**

Why Regina's smile caught her off guard was beyond Emma. Perhaps because it seemed so openly genuine and directed towards her. Or maybe it was the way her features seemed to glow and magnified her beauty. Somehow that bothered her, and the blonde suddenly felt irrationally annoyed so she sent back a rather clipped text. _Yes and it's not Alice before you ask._

Dark eyes watched the girl at the other table and took in the slumped shoulders and set jaw. Somebody looked like they were in a huff. The little scowl on Emma's face and the way her lips curved down at the side's made her look somewhat adorable. Regina might even half admit that the glasses only added to it. Instead of teasing her further and escalating the situation she simply asked a question. **Which one?**

Emma squinted at her phone as if it held all the answers and she were skeptical of reading them. After a long pause where she considered not saying anything at all she finally sent back a curious, albeit stubborn, question of her own. _Why do you care?_

Not one to be outdone, Regina let out a sigh and cast a weary glance towards Emma in the hopes that she would catch it. If they were going to play _that_ game they would be here all day, but since she wasn't the type to give up she fired back with a fast little jab of her own. **Why did you make me a danish?**

Damn it, that wasn't supposed to happen. How did the brunette effortlessly turn the tables on her like that? Emma felt herself shift uncomfortably as she cleared her throat. This wasn't something she really wanted to think about so she grabbed onto the easiest, on the surface answer she had, and sent that instead. _Peace offering?_

Regina cocked her head to the side, dark eyebrows arched as she contemplated the truth of that. Evidently even the blonde struggled to accept it fully as a valid reason, given the question mark at the end. It presented an opportunity to dig at her a little more but the brunette let it slide for now and gave her own ambiguous response. **Then indulge my curiosity.**

Though she read the message as soon as it came through, Emma ignored it so she could join in the conversation her friends were having. Ruby was going on a date with a nice, shy boy from one of her classes tonight named Billy and Belle had volunteered to tutor some girl in English. When they turned to Emma to hear her plans she glanced at her phone and shrugged. "Nothing exciting, just homework." Finally the blonde sent a short text back. _Swan Princess._

The clock on the wall ticked closer to the end of lunch and Regina patiently watched it as she waited. Absently she closed the container on the danish and re-packed it along with the doughnut before carefully placing the paper bag into her back pack. Of all the stories out there, The Swan Princess hadn't been one she'd ever imagine the blonde going for, but she had the pale complexion and hair for it. Still, she couldn't help herself from prodding further. **Really? Why?**

Emma finished off her lunch and wiped away the crumbs that clung to her shirt. One hand grabbed her bag up as the other lifted her phone as the bell rang. As she walked out of the cafeteria with her friends she sent one last text then slid her phone into her back pocket. _My name. Seemed fitting._

The rest of the school day passed without any further communication from Regina. Emma didn't mind, it made sense considering they'd both be in classes. It wasn't like they'd formed any kind of friendship over three days and why should they? The girl seemed to enjoy pissing her off and if Emma were honest, she might enjoy antagonizing her more than she probably should. That being said, Regina had stayed out of her mind for at least forty minutes by the time she'd walked over to her car and frowned at the leaflet stuck beneath her wiper. It flapped uselessly in the breeze like a wounded bird unable to fly away. What crap were they handing out today? The last poster had been about a party that, admittedly, she had attended because Ruby had insisted, and they'd dragged Belle along for the festivities. The blonde plucked the folded paper out and opened it up with a frown. That disappeared the second her eyes roamed across the pictures.

Four sketches of a blonde girl with wavy hair in a pale blue dress. Sleek yet unmistakably elegant, like a fresh take on a ballgown, minus the excess fabric. White feathers peaked at the top of the shoulder straps, fluffy and sparse. Then there was a side view, but it was the back one that made her lips part in awe. The girl in the sketch wore pale blue gloves that reached her elbow. Attached around each middle finger were thin strings that traveled down the back of her hand to her elbow, so that when she opened her arms wings of pure white feathers opened up. There was no scribble to identify the artist but she knew instinctively as she folded it with care and got into her car.

* * *

Regina's last class had been a study period. One that she spent buying groceries and snacks for the next few days. When she got home she didn't even bother to unpack as she ran upstairs to grab her laptop, a second hand thing that she'd earned by default when Cora had purchased a new one. Rather than throw it out the woman had used it as bait for as long as she could by handing out countless choirs before finally having to hand it over. Regina would never admit it, but she treasured it. A window into the world that was all hers. Okay, so she wasn't exactly a tech wizard but she could use messenger services and e-mails and access music. She set the machine down on the kitchen counter and turned on the wireless network. A few quick taps and she connected to the internet. The first thing she did was select her playlist and browsed the contents. She found one that matched her mood and clicked play as she began to unpack. One bag contained nothing but junk food. Various potato and corn chips, cans of soda, and candies. They were stuffed into the cupboard as she half danced around the kitchen, relishing her freedom. The next bag held a surprising amount of fresh fruit and vegetables, they were stored within the fridge along with ground beef, sandwich meat and cheeses.

Knowing that Cora wouldn't be walking through the door had her taking advantage of the situation by kicking off her boots in the hallway. To hell with putting them away neatly. She half danced, half ran into the living room, where she trailed her fingertips against every available surface in her path. Purposefully touching vases and ornaments to spite the woman, regardless of the fact that she'd never know. Regina did, and it filled her with immense joy. She sank heavily into the couch since she couldn't be shouted at for it and let her head fall back against the plush back cushion. With music still playing from the kitchen coupled with her good mood, Regina shut her eyes and let herself just appreciate the feelings running through her.

Slowly, the brunette slipped her hands down her torso, palms brushing against the soft fabric of her tight shirt. A shiver of anticipation ran down her spine and left goosebumps in its wake. Regina bit her lip, a small voice in the back of her head urged her to stop before logic determined she didn't have too. She was safe, alone, and there was nothing shameful in experiencing pleasure. The more devious side of her psyche encouraged her because it would feel both naughty given the setting and would be a silent 'fuck you' to violate Cora's domain in a way she'd go crazy over. Not that the brunette would ever tell her, but the knowledge would make her grin all the same. With a shake of her head she cleared away her thoughts and focused on sensation instead.

Nimble fingers tugged her shirt up to expose an inch of olive skin. Lightly, she scraped her short nails along it in a barely there caress that followed the waistband of her jeans. In her minds eye she pictured a mystery lover. Imagined the moist warmth of breath against her neck before their lips brushed against her skin in a wet kiss. Regina's right thumb worked the button free of her pants while her left hand raised to ghost her knuckles against her throat, then further down, across the swell of her breast and smoothly over ribs. The brunette's left hand caught up with her right to tug her zipper down and part fabric like the red sea. Thumbs teased along top of her panties, feather light to tickle the nerves awake. She caressed herself softly for a few minutes, unrushed and delicate as her imagination went wild. Only then did she slip her right hand inside her pants to glide softly against the material of her panties. Not quite wet yet but undeniably warm as excitement grew. She allowed the fantasy to continue. As the imaginary lover parted her legs, she spread her own. Her hand became their hand as tender strokes of fingers played across her inner thighs and caused her toes to curl within socks. The fiery burn of nails as they bit into her flesh and scraped a red path along her skin, confined and out of sight.

Slow, deep breaths gradually became more shallow as both of her hands slid beneath the last barrier of clothing. Fingertips travelled over trimmed hair and crept lower to slip effortlessly between the now wet folds of sensitive flesh. With a shaky breath, she used her middle and ring fingers to part her labia and paused. In her mind the imaginary lover exposed her, took in the sight of her arousal, and sank to their knees appreciatively. The softest of whimpers escaped the brunette as she began to circle her clit with barely any pressure, her feet twitched of their own accord and her hips shifted to gain more purchase. She teased herself like that until the restless need for release demanded a firmer touch. Heels dug into the carpet as she bit her lip and circled a little faster, a little harder, her breathing now soft, short pants that neared desperation. Like oxygen wasn't what her body needed anymore as muscles began to tense in her legs and abdomen, liquid heat poured through her veins. She imagined running her fingers through her imaginary lovers long blonde hair to pull her mouth closer to her sensitive wet heat as she neared the delicious edge, imagined looking down into green eyes as she swallowed a moan back and then... She _froze_.

Regina's eyes shot open as if she'd just woken from a nightmare to peer up at the ceiling. She took her hands out of her pants in shock at the manifestation of her desires. Impending climax forgotten as she stood on shaky legs and took several deep breaths to calm her erratic pulse. Quick fingers done up her pants and she walked into the kitchen a tad unsteadily and straight over to the sink to wash her hands. Then she about turned, found a tutorial on how to make beef nachos on her laptop, and began to pull ingredients out of the fridge with the intent to distract her mind. Everything got lined up meticulously. Satisfied, she hit the replay button and grabbed a knife to dice up the bell pepper when someone knocked on the door. The only person she expected was Tracy so she let out a yell of, "The door's open!" And resumed her culinary task.

Aware of someone entering the house, Regina didn't think to turn around when the footsteps halted by the kitchen. The repetitive slice and dice with the knife soothed the frustration that had built up and she waved her left hand towards the fridge. "You're welcome to grab a soda, providing you get one for me while you're at it." The lack of verbal response belatedly registered as wrong. Regina frowned at the tutorial still playing then turned just in time to watch Emma set a can next to her on the counter. Startled, the brunette's lips parted but no sound escaped and so she blinked and averted her gaze. "What are you doing here?" She growled out, suddenly tense. To anyone else it would have looked like she was addressing the onion sitting passively on the chopping board.

"You literally just invited me in." Emma stated over the sound of her own can being popped open. She took a sip of the chilled beverage and eyed the brunette curiously. Was she delusional or was the brunette avoiding her gaze? To test the theory the blonde stepped into Regina's personal space and watched the way she viciously chopped at the onion faster. "I'm here because I wanted to know what this is." With her free hand she casually pulled the folded piece of paper out of her pocket and shook it out like it were some sort of treasure map to brandish in front of Regina.

The brunette didn't even bother to spare Emma or the drawing a single glance as she spat back, "Well judging from the markings I dare say it's a series of inks on parchment. How otherworldly. Have you considered sending it off to scientists to see if they can identify it?" Why did she need to stand so close? Through the pungent aroma of onion she could still detect floral notes that simply didn't belong in the house. Not exactly sweet, but delicate, like soft petals themselves. Regina pointedly gazed at the video on her laptop as she reached for the ground beef, then hesitated, and followed the guide as he picked up the tomato instead.

Another small step closer brought Emma mere inches away from Regina's shoulder, their height difference fully on display since the brunette stood in her socks. Emma leaned against the counter with her hip, facing Regina to openly scrutinize her as she set her soda down. "You didn't have to draw it, that wasn't why I apologised." It had been on the tip of her tongue to rile the girl up but honesty had slipped out instead. The blonde knew it was too late to take it back so she focused instead on the avid way Regina followed the steps in the video. Then she snorted derisively, "You don't know how to make nachos?"

Sincerity, especially directed towards her, left Regina uncomfortable. Mostly because it felt so foreign and she didn't know how to deal with it. The polite thing to do would be to acknowledge what Emma said and offer up a reason of her own as to why she'd drawn it. Well, not in this lifetime. The brunette ignored the comment entirely to scoff back in irritation, "Of course I know how to make them." The blatant lie rolled off her tongue with ease.

Emma arched her eyebrows and leaned in front of the brunette, her right hand reached out to close the laptop with a soft click. "Then you don't need to watch that." She breathed out, amused but curious to see what would happen. After the text at lunch she owed Regina a little revenge to make her squirm, and if she wasn't mistaken, the girl had held her breath when she'd invaded her personal space deliberately.

Regina stilled as the blonde grazed her shoulder to lean over and touch her property without having the decency to ask first. Teeth clenched with the effort not to push the blonde out of her line of vision, and she sucked in a slow deep breath once Emma resumed standing next to her. Entirely too close for comfort, but at least she wasn't touching her any longer. "I don't, but since we're swapping obvious information may I add that taunting the person wielding the knife isn't particularly smart." To emphasize her point Regina stabbed the tomato to death. Then diced it into cubes with far more force than necessary. However, once she was done she regarded the spring onion and ground beef dubiously before glancing over the jars of spices she'd lined up and then warily at the pan that had been left to heat on a medium setting. Regina's fingers curled tighter around the knife as she looked over the rest of the ingredients with rising panic and increasing anger. She refused to look stupid in front of the blonde. The spring onion quickly found itself on the chopping board. Regina hacked it to pieces and set the knife down. She hesitated again. Did she add the onion into the pan first or was it the ground beef? Did they say to add oil first? One hand reached out for the onion then faltered as she glanced at the pan.

Quietly, Emma observed the brunette and witnessed the frown on the girl's face deepen into a scowl as the spring onion finished getting slaughtered. The way she paused to fight whatever inner turmoil was clearly threatening to take over should have amused her but it didn't. The whole point had been to tease Regina a little, but the usual confidence the girl carried around school with her swagger had wafted away like steam as she struggled to pick out what to do next. _She doesn't know how to cook._ The thought hit Emma like a bucket of cold water. This wasn't teasing, it was humiliating, and the blonde could practically feel the self loathing emanating from Regina as she reached for the laptop then stopped herself as if unable to admit out loud that she couldn't do it alone. _She never had a proper family to teach her._ Sensing how volatile Regina was becoming Emma stepped up behind her and pressed herself against the brunette's back. She placed her hands over Regina's and guided her right hand back to the knife, while the other picked up the chopping board. "The tomato and spring onion will get used to garnish the nachos later." Then she guided the blade of the knife across the board to slide them both into the empty bowl next to the ground beef, leaving the bell pepper and onion on it at the other side. Emma used Regina as if she were an extension of herself and had her pick up the spatula and ground beef to empty it into the heated pan. "Brown the beef first and the juices will mean you don't need to add oil." She spoke softly, her head bowed over Regina's shoulder as she helped the girl separate the ground beef and stir it loose within the pan.

Initially the contact infuriated Regina for two reasons. One, she _liked_ it more than would be considered proper which frankly bothered her considerably and two, because she was _not_ a child, nor was she stupid or useless. However, when it came to cooking… Talents were severely lacking in that category. She had no confidence in herself when it came to being in the kitchen, which was why she enjoyed the video's that people uploaded. They were like a gift from the Gods. Reluctantly she willed her body to relax as Emma guided her movements fluidly. The blonde wasn't trying to infantilize her, and on some level Regina appreciated the fact that she'd stepped in to teach her what to do without mocking her or requiring her to ask for help first. Something Regina honestly didn't think she would have been capable of doing. Though she listened to every calm word from the blonde, she couldn't make her own tongue work. In the silence she could hear every breath Emma took, warm against her neck, and she bit her lower lip against the shiver that threatened to overtake her. It was ridiculous, someone breathing shouldn't illicit such a response. Suddenly she was all too aware of her damp panties and a wave of guilt washed through her small frame and coloured her cheeks.

Emma kept herself pressed against Regina as she guided the chopping board over to push the bell pepper and onion into the pan. If she were honest with herself, and in that moment she was, the contact sent a thrill through her. The scent of the brunette's hair held notes of mint and tea tree, a combination that the blonde would describe as intoxicating. The fact that Regina had fallen silent didn't deter Emma in the slightest. It actually instilled more confidence as she continued on like it were the most natural thing in the world. Kind of like the way they fit together so easily, as if their bodies were jigsaw pieces. "Okay now we're going to add a dash of cumin powder and chili powder to season the beef but not too much because we'll add more later." Emma let go of Regina's right hand to pick one of the tubs up and waited for the girl to lift the other. With the tip of her index finger she tapped out a light dusting to coat the meat to show Regina how to do it. The blonde grinned when the brunette mimicked her actions with the cumin then picked up the spatula to stir it all together. "That's good." Emma encouraged, her left hand still clutched around Regina's wrist lightly shifted to splay across the back of her hand. "Since you used lean beef there isn't really anything to drain, so next add the washed kidney beans and the refried beans."

Either Regina was losing her mind or Emma had just sniffed her hair not nearly as subtly as she probably thought she did. Indignation would have most likely been the kind of reaction she'd have with someone doing that and yet in it's place she felt a peculiar sensation within her stomach. The same sort of flip she'd experienced as a roller-coaster plummeted down at great speed. Lips parted as she felt Emma's hand slip over hers, and though her brain screamed at her to push the girl away, her fingers betrayed her by opening tentatively to let the blonde's fingers fill the spaces between her own. When they did, and her heart skipped a beat, Regina forced herself to breathe calmly and carried on with the instructions she was given. Neither addressed the way they were behaving, as if they understood that drawing attention to it right then would end it. Both kidney and refried beans were added to the pan and she exhaled a slow breath as Emma pressed further against her back to reach for the cup of water. The blonde added half the cup and more spices as Regina continued to stir the mixture around. The refried beans appeared to melt and act as thickening agent to bring it all together.

"Alright, turn the heat off under the pan, because the ring will stay hot for at least ten or so minutes. Grab your tortilla chips and spread them over the tray." Even as Emma whispered out what to do she found herself grabbing the bowl of chopped tomato and spring onion. Regina silently complied and Emma briefly squeezed her fingers in silent reassurance. "Now put as much of the meat mixture on them as you want. If you have extra it'll keep in the fridge for two or three days." Emma watched patiently as the brunette scooped out half of the mixture and covered the chips evenly with care not to break any. When she was done, Emma went ahead and sprinkled out the contents of the bowl and set it aside to grab the jalapeno's. Just as before, she scattered them them around and set the bowl inside the other one on the counter. "All you need to do now is add your grated cheese and put the tray in the oven for about fifteen minutes until everything warms through and the cheddar melts. Salsa and sour cream are recommended as a topping afterwards. So is guacamole, I don't really care for the taste but if you do that's cool."

Regina worked with her right hand to sprinkle the two different cheeses over the finished nachos and refused to wonder why the idea of losing contact with Emma's left hand seemed appalling. They barely knew one another, and at most Regina had derived joy from intentionally getting under the blonde's skin. That seemed to be a two way street, but this? Completely blew it out of the water. Reluctantly she turned to face Emma once she'd finished with the cheese. Dark eyes searched the forest green in front of her intently for any signs of deceit or cruelty. All she found was uncertainty that no doubt reflected in her own eyes. Regina's lips parted but she couldn't bring herself to thank the girl for her assistance. She never did deal with vulnerability well. With a soft sigh she let her gaze travel over Emma's feature's as if mapping them to memory then shook her head. Absently she ran her right hand through her hair then as if she couldn't help herself, reached out to trace her finger tips against the girl's shirt collar. "It brings out the green of your eyes." Regina whispered, more to herself than Emma.

The air around them felt thick and heavy. Emma would have put money on the possibility of electricity sparking between their joined hands. The intensity of Regina's gaze kept her rooted to the spot but the second those gentle fingers touched her collar Emma felt her self control waver dangerously into territory she'd never stepped foot into before. The blonde nervously licked her lips as they parted and leaned in. Their face's were barely inches apart and she felt herself closing the distance, hypnotised by the magnetic pull towards the brunette.

Dark eyes widened imperceptibly as Emma began to lean in, and though Regina didn't attempt to meet her halfway, she certainly didn't pull back either. Transfixed by what she knew in her bones was about to take place. Stunned that Emma would actually have the nerve to make a move. Excited to realise that she _wanted_ Emma to be the one to initiate, since the blonde seemed so skittish. It had to happen that way, or the blonde would inevitably be spooked. Their lips were millimeters away now. They were sharing breath. Regina watched the blonde swallow thickly then let her gaze rest on the Emma's lips.

The front door opened and slammed shut with a friendly cry of, "Hey Regina, someone's parked a yellow beetle outside your house! Lucky Cora isn't here, she'd lose her shit!"

The moment shattered around them like a broken mirror. Shards of desire flew around the room like shrapnel as Emma all but jumped to the other end of the counter to put as much distance between them as she could. Eyes wide with panic as she scrambled to fold up the drawing she'd left on the counter to stuff into her back pocket.

Some lodged themselves into Regina who masked the stab of pain by turning abruptly to open the oven and slipped the tray of nachos inside. When she turned around she greeted Tracy as she walked in with a small smile and motioned towards the fridge. "I'm aware. Help yourself to soda, nachos will be ready in fifteen minutes." She watched Emma shift uncomfortably in her peripheral vision.

Tracy eyed the tall blonde trying to blend into the wall and cocked her head as a vague sense of familiarity washed through her. Then she turned her attention to Regina and quirked a curious eyebrow. Her friend appeared bored and closed off but the pink tinge of the blonde's cheeks made her wonder what was going on. Suspicion took over as Tracy narrowed her eyes and shot a questioning look at Regina. When her friend offered nothing more than a one shoulder shrug and the stranger appeared to be contemplating clawing through the floor to escape a light bulb sparked to life within her mind. "You're Princess Muffin." She cooed in amusement.

Emma's brow furrowed, arms instinctively wrapped around herself defensively and she lifted her chin to assert false confidence. Part of her wanted to feel offended by the implication but she wasn't entirely sure what the implication happened to be. Confusion won out in the end as she asked incredulously, "I'm _what_?"

Regina rolled her eyes and fought the urge to rub her temple. "Yes." She answered calmly, and shot Emma a look. "It's the name I saved your number under." Regina added as an after thought to erase whatever concerns were no doubt fluttering through the blonde's mind.

Tracy smirked as realisation dawned on Emma and the frown she wore got replaced with a cringe. Whatever the story was behind it she knew she wouldn't get the answers with the girl standing right there in front of her. Casually she stepped around the blonde to grab a soda from the fridge and turned her attention to Regina. "I picked up a couple cans of clear paint, I know you were running out and I needed another one anyway. Two birds." She said as if to explain, then opened her soda with a quiet pop and hiss to take a sip.

"Right well, thanks for the drawings." Emma blurted. The blonde felt out of her depth and had no intention of hanging around when she couldn't properly explain why she had even stayed in the first place. Not to mention the fact that her emotions felt like a miniature twister wreaking havoc inside her body. The sooner she escaped the situation the better. "I'll show myself out." Then she paused to face Tracy, "I'm Emma, by the way. Nice to meet you." The words were barely out of her mouth as she exited the kitchen and quickly made her way out of the house and down the path to the safety of her bug.

Regina could only watch as Emma practically ran away without giving her the chance to respond and scowled at her back as she vanished from sight. How very predictable. Regina swallowed back the emotions it caused and turned to lean back against the counter. "Do you want to watch a movie while we have nachos? I don't want to paint on an empty stomach."

Tracy waved away Regina's question to substitute it with one of her own. "Whoa hold on, what the hell did I just miss?" The bemused expression she wore slid into sly as she leaned across the island counter to eye her friend curiously.

"Nothing. I accepted her apology and sketched her a dress in return for the danish." Regina sniffed and bent over to check on the food as it warmed through. It was the perfect excuse to avoid her friends prying eyes. "You know I don't like to be in anyone's debt."

Tracy could smell bullshit from miles away. While she respected Regina and her penchant for keeping everyone distant, there was only so much she could handle without at least trying to call her on it. "So why'd she look like she wanted to crawl out of her skin?" The blonde pressed lightly.

"I make her uncomfortable." The truth of that statement settled heavily on Regina's shoulders as she levelled Tracy with a dark look that dared her to push further.

Tracy took the hint and made the wise decision to change the topics. "What movie do you want to watch? I've brought a few horror's with me. Older ones but they're better than most of the new stuff anyway. Fancy watching House On Haunted Hill or The Descent?"

Regina nodded her approval seconds before the oven beeped. "Whichever you prefer." She said while she plucked up the oven mitts and pulled the warm tray out of the oven and switched the power off. "We can watch the other one later if you wish." Regina added offhandedly. Five quick steps brought her to the cupboard where the plate's were stored, she pulled out two and handed one to Tracy so she could help herself. The brunette loaded her own plate and scooped a dollop of sour cream onto the top. "Shall we?"

Tracy merely grinned and picked up her soda with the hand that wasn't currently balancing a plate of nachos and followed Regina into the living room.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N - Thank you for such awesome reviews! I adore them all. Loadust, what you said left me speechless. Seriously, wow. I truly hope that future chapters live up to your expectations. MagicMirrorSeesAll91, you picked up on the mind ninja of the previous chapter, we shall see if your stress over Cora will be valid later :] To all those who followed, faved or bookmarked, you rock. Thank you so much.**

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"Do we really need to sit inside today?" Emma began with a nervous glance behind her. "I mean the sun's splitting the tree's, let's take advantage and grab a bench outside." Green eyes sought out Belle in an attempt to single the girl out, she was her best hope of back up. "Fresh air would do us all good, you know?" The smile she offered would have been winning if it hadn't faltered then stuck that way, like a manic clown with a deranged glint in her eyes. Desperately trying to convey how _fun_ it would be to change things around.

Belle gave a slight nod as if to say she saw no problem with the alternative area for lunch but said nothing as she turned to Ruby to gauge her reaction.

The tall brunette squinted at Emma, then over her shoulder to see what her friend kept looking for. Nothing stood out and she sighed and returned her gaze back to the blonde. "That's the third time you've suggested that." Ruby's tone was flat but her eyes were piercing. "You're acting twitchy." She concluded, then leaned into Emma's personal space to peer into her eyes. "Why?" She pressed, her tone suspicious.

"I'm not acting twitchy!" Emma grumbled, face contorting in displeasure as she resigned herself to the table they sat at and opened her lunch unenthusiastically. It wasn't that she planned to avoid Regina for the rest of the school year, she just wouldn't have a problem if it turned out that way, so to speak. After she had run out of the girl's house and driven home she'd barely been able to think of anything other than how close she'd come to pressing her lips against Regina's. The fact that it had been stopped before it had even started had to be some kind of sign right? A sign that she had been severely close to losing her mind. Though if that _were_ a sign, then what the hell did it say that her mom had packed her a tuna sandwich? No, she wouldn't torment herself by looking for wisdom in everything around her. Sandwiches were sandwiches. Almost kissing a girl fell under the same category as brain aneurysms and amnesia. Clearly she hadn't been thinking straight. _Thinking straight?_ Emma pressed her lips together and resisted the urge to run out of the cafeteria screaming. "Anyone want this sandwich? I'm not very hungry."

"Are you feeling alright?" Queried Belle softly, though her fingers plucked up the sandwich and she grinned a bit sheepishly. "I'm tutoring again tonight, this'll save me having to run home. Thanks Emma." Then she tucked the sandwich into her bag and picked up her burger to take a bite, pausing mid chew to glance at Ruby. "Sorry, did you want it? I should have asked before just taking it."

With a shake of her head Ruby turned to eye Emma again. Something was going on with the blonde and she didn't know what. It wasn't very often that that happened, and when it did it always left her feeling peculiar. She knew the girl better than Emma knew herself most days, so not being able to pinpoint the dilemma bugged her. "I hope you're not tutoring tomorrow. I told Neal we'd be at his party." Ruby picked up a fry and used it to point at Emma, "And I told him you'd be there with us, so you better not have any plans because you'll have to cancel them."

"You told him _what?_" The sound of Emma's voice reached a pitch only dogs could hear as she swivelled on her chair to look incredulously at Ruby. Sure, she had no plans, and yeah she'd have gone anyway with her friends but declaring she'd be there felt an awful lot like being set up. Emma felt a cold sweat begin, beneath the table her leg bounced at such a speed any drummer would have been proud.

Belle raised her eyebrows and hid a grin behind her bottle of iced tea. The two of them fought like sister's, or what she imagined sister's would fight like, at least. Everyone knew that Neal had shown interest in Emma, just like they knew Killian would attempt to charm his way into any girl's bed that had a pulse. Ruby had been trying to get the blonde to go out with Neal for the better part of a month now and this stunt could either cause fireworks or world war three. Belle imagined the latter as she took in the waxy sheen of Emma's face.

"Would you relax?" Ruby all but sighed, knowing full well it was probably the worst thing to say to Emma when she appeared two shallow breaths away from a panic attack. The added eye roll wouldn't help either but it felt appropriate to how she felt and so she went with it. "I said you'd be there with _us_. It's not like I set you up on a date or anything."

Across the cafeteria Neal stood in line with his tray and rocked back on his heels. His fingers lightly tapped out a rhythm against the hard plastic as he browsed what the school had to offer today. He picked up two slices of pepperoni pizza to go with the carton of milk and the tub of jello before he turned his attention to Killian behind him. "Did I tell you the good news? I have a date with her tomorrow." The bright smile he wore gave him a cheeky, almost mischievous look.

"Yeah so you've said." Killian replied dryly and cast his gaze towards Emma longingly. "Too bad she has no idea." He jabbed lightly with a bit of a smirk. "Not to put a dampener on your plans but I'll be at your party, as will half the people in our year, you'll be busy playing host while I sweep Swan off her feet." The cocky way he lifted his chin spoke of the friendly rivalry they had concerning the blonde. While they'd never come to physical blows over it, their friendship allowed for verbal ones.

One hand raised so that Neal could scritch along the stubble of his jaw. "Yeah, you bringing a broom?" He fired back with a grin of his own. Then, almost as an after thought as he watched his friend grab a plate of spaghetti, he added bemused, "Why are you going after her anyway, I thought you were sleeping with that girl. What's her name, Tina? Stacey?"

"Ah, Miss Inker." Killian grinned roguishly and tilted his head back as if recalling a pleasant memory. "Who said I can't have them both? It's a man's right to sow his wild oats." The flippant way he said it matched the wave of his hand as he reached for a slice of rhubarb pie. "Afraid I'll ruin Swan before you get the chance to be with her or just that you'll be having my seconds?"

Behind Killian dark eyes narrowed. The brunette turned to look at Tracy with a quirked eyebrow, a silent _did you hear that?_ When the blonde looked repulsed and mimicked sticking her fingers down her throat to vomit, the brunette acknowledged the reaction with a slight nod. Killian would have to learn to stop running his mouth before rumours bit him in the ass.

Neal snorted and rolled his eyes as he stepped down the line with his tray and paid for his meal. "Why would I be afraid when I know she'd never go out with you? Between you and me, I'm definitely the better catch." If it hadn't been so juvenile he would have stuck his tongue out, but since he couldn't he did the next best thing and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Killian scoffed at the notion of being bested by his friend, though he waited until he paid for his own food before he stepped out of the line to stand next to Neal with a shit eating grin on his face. "Don't worry mate, I'll treat Swan gently… For the first thrust at least." Then he winked and nodded towards Emma, who sat with her friends, completely oblivious. "When I'm done with her tomorrow night she won't be able to walk straight for a week."

Why would anyone want to fuck a swan? The idea of bestiality sickened Regina and her face twisted in disgust. She'd never understand that sort of shit or why some people found it funny. The brunette barely took one step around the two of them before dark eyes caught sight of Emma. All of a sudden she recalled the text from yesterday like somebody had flipped a switch inside her memory. _My name. Seemed fitting._ Regina's spine went rigid as she stopped abruptly. Their entire odious conversation quickly took on a whole different meaning which evoked some rather volatile emotions within the brunette. After the girl had scurried off last night neither of them had texted since. It shouldn't matter one way or the other what anyone said about her. It wasn't like they'd done anything except cook. Regina's gaze drifted down to her left hand to watch her fingers twitch. If she closed her eyes she could almost feel the warmth of the Emma's laced between them.

Tracy ignored Killian, who failed to notice her presence anyway, to stand next to Regina with a slightly confused arch of eyebrows. "What, did you forget to buy something?" The blonde cocked her head as her friend pivoted to blink back at her. Face void of emotion.

Killian's voice carried over the chatter as he called after his friend who had walked off towards the back of the hall, his tone clearly amused and very arrogant. "Chin up, mate. If I make Swan my play thing just think of the experience she'll have when she gets around to you. You'll be thanking me!"

Regina offered the barest hint of smile that never reached her eyes and handed her tray over to a bewildered Tracy, who took it without complaint. Seconds ago she'd been about to walk away. How quickly things changed. The brunette tilted her head until her neck cracked and flexed her fingers.

"No, Regina…" Tracy warned softly, but couldn't grab her friend now that both of her hands were full. Perplexed, she side stepped into the girl's line of vision to hiss, "Whatever you're thinking of doing, it's a mistake." The blonde could see the change in her friend and knew whatever came next wouldn't be pretty. "There are too many witnesses."

"You're right." Regina admitted quietly, and took a moment to look around the cafeteria. "But do you know what my problem is?" The question came out light as she returned her gaze to Tracy with a small, self-deprecating smirk. "I never learn from my mistakes." With a slow, deep, breath she stepped around her friend and into Killian's path without so much as a courtesy blink.

The mischievous smile he wore only grew as he looked the brunette over with a hum of appreciation. "Normally I don't like people getting in my way, but when they look like you…Exceptions can be made." He leaned in to wink salaciously.

Regina returned his smile with one of her own as if she were sharing an inside joke. Except he wasn't privy to it. Before Killian had the chance to stand up straight she slapped the palm of her right under his tray and tipped the contents against him with a rough shove. Dark eyes glinted with amusement as he stumbled back a few steps, stunned. Spaghetti stuck to his shirt in sauce covered clumps, the tray and it's spoiled contents clattered to the ground and the pie landed on his boot with a satisfying wet splat. The entire cafeteria went silent as all eyes turned to watch the spectacle taking place like a pack of wild animals. "Woops." She said with a haphazard shrug.

"Wha-?" Surprise shifted to humiliation and straight on to anger as Killian strode forward and used both of his hands against her shoulders to push the brunette forcefully. "You owe me a new shirt you bitch!" He growled in her face.

Regardless of the audience Regina couldn't help the surge of joy as he retaliated. It fed right into her desires and she took a moment to grin back at him like the idea of violence were akin to walking through an amusement park. "You'll need a new reputation in a minute." She whispered back, delighted to see his nostrils flare and his fists clench. "How much do those cost?" Regina taunted, and pushed him back just as hard with a sneer. "More or less than a call girl? I can only assume you'd have to pay for it, if you're not still a _virgin_."

Who the hell did she think she was? Wasn't this the dyke they'd been talking about the other day? Killian didn't even know her. What did he do to deserve this kind of shit? Well, she'd regret it. _Nobody_ humiliated him in front of his peers. Like a tree caught in a storm, Killian snapped, and lunged at the brunette the way a linebacker would tackle a player on the other team. They latched onto one another and collided against the nearest table with a grunt and snarl respectively. Tray's of food tumbled to the floor as they pushed and pulled at each other. Several people jumped out of the way while a few began to cheer them on. Apparently fighting was at least an equal opportunities free for all between the sexes.

Regina's head narrowly missed a tray of mac and cheese as she laughed in Killian's face and grabbed the front of his shirt. "Did I bruise your fragile ego?" The fist that flew at her face gave her all the answer she needed. Pain exploded through her jaw and her mouth filled with the coppery tang of blood. Regina blinked through the growing ache as her vision blurred. Salt water stung her eyes but she didn't need to see to take advantage of their position. Regina brought her knee up roughly between his legs before he had the chance to land another punch. The high pitched whine that erupted from Killian let her know she'd hit the right spot, her vicious grin a clear sign that she enjoyed that fact immensely. Instinctively he tried to curl up but she sure as hell wasn't letting him pin her to the table with his weight. When his head lowered she threw an uppercut and sent him sideways off of her.

Chairs scattered as Killian tumbled to his knees, face slowly turning purple as he wheezed. Both of his hands covered his manhood, or whatever might be left of it, to shield from further attacks. Regina straightened up and wiped her thumb across her lower lip. Blood coated the digit but she didn't seem to mind as she stalked slowly towards him. "That's it?" The tone was low and vaguely sultry as she smiled. "That's all you've got?" The brunette shook her head with a derisive snort and delivered a swift kick to his ass that sent him sprawling across the ground. She moved as if to grab him but got intercepted by Tracy who leaned over him instead.

The sound of the blonde's slap echoed around the room as she hissed loudly, "I would _never_ sleep with a guy who wears more makeup than I do. I have more dignity than that." The venom in her voice made it clear that if he so much as whispered about her ever again she'd make him pay for it. The truth however, was that she stepped in not to save him, but to save Regina from herself. "Come on." Tracy turned to the brunette and nodded towards the bathroom, "Let's get you cleaned up before you're dragged off by a teacher." _Again_ got implied silently as the blonde began to lead her through the crowd of bodies. Some spoke in hushed murmurs, some were laughing, and others praised the impromptu fight for the sheer entertainment value.

Regina smirked wickedly as she followed her friend. People swiftly got out of her way, unwilling to be on the receiving end of her temper. So what if they feared her? It worked out for the best. Whatever anybody thought about her she truly didn't care. The fact that Tracy believed the attack had been about his slanderous tales of sleeping with her meant she didn't have to explain herself. After all, her friend had no idea that the _Swan_ he'd been referencing happened to be Emma. Why that had been the last straw to set her off seemed irrelevant now. Or at least, that's what she told herself as she approached the blonde's table. Regina would rather bite off her own tongue than ever admit the rage had come from that knowledge. The sight of disbelief on the girl's face as she walked around her table did nothing to shift her grin.

Silence lingered at the trio's table while hushed murmurs took over the rest of the cafeteria. If anybody helped Killian to his feet they never noticed. Emma's gaze continued to linger on the door the brunette had walked through but snapped back to Belle when the girl let out an amused little hum and took a bite out of her burger. Emma arched her eyebrows in question and Ruby cocked her head to the side in an attempt to read their friend's mind.

Belle swallowed her food and took a sip of her ice tea, aware of the two sets of eyes now on her. She waited a moment longer then divulged her thoughts with a pleased smile. "Well I did tell you both that Tracy had more sense than to sleep with him. Now everyone else knows it."

Ruby cracked a slight grin and shook her head, "You're proud of yourself for not falling for his bullshit." It wasn't a question, just a bemused statement. "We just watched a guy get his ass handed to him, and that's the first thing that you think of?"

Laughter bubbled up and fell from Belle's lips as she shrugged good-naturedly. "What? You'd have thought the same thing if you pointed something out that nobody else questioned."

An elbow landed against Emma's side to gently nudge her out of her thoughts. The blonde offered up a weak smile to the lanky brunette studying her curiously. "She has a point, Ruby." She mumbled, as her mind drifted to the fight and wondered why it had taken place. Why had Regina instigated it in the first place? What the hell had she been thinking? Yeah, Killian had lost, but he'd struck her hard enough to draw blood… She could have been really hurt. What if she'd lost? An uneasy knot twisted inside Emma's stomach like cold, live eels. At least she hadn't really eaten anything, or she suspected it would be leaving her system in a bathroom stall right about now.

"You okay Emma?" Ruby couldn't be sure, but her friend had gotten very quiet the second they turned to watch the fight. Now she looked strangely pale and somewhat crestfallen. The cogs in Ruby's mind turned over and her eyes widened. "_Oh_... Are you upset because you _like_ Killian, is that why you don't want to date Neal?"

Logically she could see why her friend would come to that conclusion but it annoyed her all the same. Emma pressed her lips together to keep the flood of words locked away, but she couldn't take it anymore. The dam burst and Emma let it flow right out of her. Unfiltered, unrestrained, truth. "Here's the thing, Ruby…" The blonde turned to face the tall brunette fully so that her words couldn't be interpreted any other way. "I'd rather roll around on thumbtacks and then take a bath in vinegar. I'd rather bungee jump with razor wire wrapped around me instead of a cord. I'd rather contract a flesh eating virus _than ever date either of them._ I never want to be with them. Not now. Not in college. Not when I'm turning forty and reminiscing about how life used to be. _Never._"

Ruby's eyes widened and she opened her mouth. When no sound came out she closed it again with a snap of teeth in a rare moment of being rendered speechless.

Belle cleared her throat and shifted uncomfortably, her gaze rooted to the tray in front of her. It would be rude to say she called this as well. Granted it hadn't evolved into world war three but it certainly shared nothing with fireworks. Except perhaps the explosion.

Emma hadn't meant to go off on her friend but she was starting to feel claustrophobic in her own skin every time she pushed her into a conversation regarding those two and it had to stop. It had to stop _now_. Emma stood up abruptly with screech of chair legs and a quiet, "I'm going home. I think I'm coming down with something." _Yeah, lesbianism._ Taunted the voice in the back of her mind. She ignored it and grabbed her bag. This was the second time in two days that she had fled a situation and it made her feel pathetic. _Rather pathetic than uncomfortable._ She reasoned silently the moment she pushed her way through the doors and stepped into the warm breeze. Sunlight hit her face and Emma felt like she could breathe again.

* * *

Brown. The entire office had been decorated in various shades of brown. The jacket he wore, the waistcoat beneath it, even the rims of his glasses were fucking brown. It felt like she were sitting inside a hollowed out tree. Worse, buried under the dirt. Dry, warm air gave the room an uncomfortably stuffy feeling and caused her nose to itch. The silence was deafening as they stared at one another. Regina clenched her jaw in defiance and refused to look away. She wouldn't be the one to blink first. She _wouldn't_. If she excelled at anything it was making people uncomfortable, and she embraced it. On some level revelled in it. Why should now be any different?

"You know why you're here?" Mr Hopper asked tentatively after it became clear that the brunette point blank refused to say anything without being prompted. One hand clutched a pen that hovered above a notebook.

Regina viewed the pen as an inky guillotine ready to terminate her attendance. Dark eyes narrowed at the question before they rolled with barely restrained ennui. "Obviously." She stated flatly.

"This is a safe place, Regina." Mr Hopper began in that soft, lulling tone that often eased the tension within those students who found themselves on the opposite side of his desk. "It's important that you know that whatever you say here will stay between us."

A solitary dark eyebrow crept upwards as Regina regarded the guidance counselor wearily. From experience, if you had to say a place was safe it rarely, if ever, turned out to be. False sense of security didn't interest her in the slightest. Not when she was adept at reading between the lines. What she said would remain here depending entirely on the content. If she were to mention the urge to harm someone, or herself, or speak of what might take place at _home_ then he'd share it with the _appropriate authorities_. Regina kept her mouth shut.

Undeterred, Mr Hopper smiled gently and sat back in his chair. Notebook now pressed against his thigh as he peered at the brunette curiously. "I'd like you to tell me what transpired in the cafeteria. What lead up to the altercation?"

"He blatantly fabricated his pursuit of hedonism." Regina sighed, though kept her gaze on the man currently studying her for any reaction she might have. So she indulged him by letting the mask of apathy slip just enough to allow her a flicker of a bright smile. "I merely fulfilled mine through him."

Mr Hopper's eyebrows arched in surprise though he had yet to write anything down. "You derived pleasure from physically assaulting him?" He queried in astonishment.

Regina returned the expression as she raised her eyebrows and replied impassively, "That's pretty self evident."

Behind thick glass, eyes blinked rapidly as Mr Hopper processed the information and then frowned as if he struggled to retain it. "And you think he deserved to be treated in such a manner?"

"Do the girls he claims to have defiled deserve to be treated that way?" Regina questioned stolidly with a slight incline of her head. "Reputations ruined? Life's tarnished? All because of false sexualised interactions that boost his ego and status while dissolving theirs?"

For a minute Mr Hopper said nothing as he took in the equanimous nature of the girl who sat before him. Hard to believe that the thick file he'd flicked through earlier detailing numerous accounts of anti-social behaviour belonged to the brunette. "No of course not, but there are other means to achieve a satisfactory resolution. Violence is _never_ the answer, Regina."

Regina quirked a dark eyebrow as the corners of her lips twitched in silent mirth yet never blossomed into an actual smile. "I see." The brunette finally murmured cryptically.

"The choices you make now will alter the direction of your life." Mr Hopper spoke with concern as he shifted in his chair to lean his forearms against the desk, as if his body language could help convey the weight of the situation. "They could affect or influence the career you desire to pursue once you graduate. Perhaps even before."

The topic of choosing a career made Regina want to sneer but she kept it at bay to ask innocently, "What if I was choosing to enroll in the Army once I'm finished with school?"

This took Mr Hopper by pleasant surprise and he actually smiled properly. "Ah, an admirable choice. If this is something you're serious about I could get information for you."

Regina blinked back at him. A slow, cheshire like grin began to spread across her lips as he paved the way to his own hypocrisy. "You support the troops?"

"Of course." He agreed without any hesitation. Completely unaware of where she was going with the question as he finished amicably, "Freedom isn't always a guarantee, they ensure we keep ours."

"Interesting." The brunette breathed out softly, and sank back in her own chair to eye him with slightly more interest than before.

Mr Hopper gave her a bewildered smile and cocked his head, unsure why that sparked any interest at all. "Yes?"

"Yes." Regina reiterated firmly. "You sit there and offer platitudes about violence _never_ being the answer and yet in the next breath you're praising the armed forces that fight on a daily basis around the world. Clearly violence can, and has been, _the answer_." Though she gave a cogent argument she already knew he'd wave it off but the look of surprise that marred his features had been worth it. "Just because it doesn't fit within certain lines you demonize it." She finished with a supercilious sneer.

The girl was truly surprising. Of all the students he'd ever counselled Regina was by far one of the brightest. Once the initial shock wore off, Mr Hopper cleared his throat and tried another approach. "Physical harm might _feel_ like a good choice but it rarely ever is. Self defense is acceptable. Striking someone for what they say is not."

Regina slowly nodded, a ghost of a smile touched her lips as he inadvertently put his foot in it again, so to speak. She may have tipped the tray against him but he had pushed her first. "So, to be clear, it's perfectly acceptable to objectify women and reduce them to nothing more than a means to gratify oneself, but objectifying a misogynist is out of line?"

Mr Hopper paused to push up his spectacles. Then smoothed a hand down his tie to gather his thoughts before announcing lightly, "You didn't objectify him, Regina. You hit him."

This time the brunette grinned fully as she leaned back in the chair and let her hands dangle from the armrests in a jovial manner. "I did objectify him. In fact you might say I reduced him to a punching bag. Pretty big object. And technically he threw the first punch. After he charged at me like a bull. Who knew pasta warranted such an outburst."

There was no arguing with those facts. Many students had been called on to assist in finding out what exactly had taken place during lunch. However, two wrongs did not make a right, and whether the tray being spilled had been construed as an accident or deliberate, they had both done damage to the other. "Yes, his responses were mentioned by several other students and he is being dealt with accordingly but this is about _you_ and _your_ actions."

The idea of Killian being punished further did please her, but not enough to continue with this shambles of disciplinary action. Regina had reached her capacity for boredom. "If you're hoping I'll show remorse it's not going to happen. So you might as well skip to the part where you inform me that you're going to call Cora to express concern at my violent tendencies and let her know I've been kicked out of school."

The frown that appeared on Mr Hopper's face conveyed his befuddlement. "You _want_ me to inform your foster mother of what's transpired this afternoon?"

Regina's dark eyes narrowed as she tried to figure out what kind of angle he was going for with that line of questioning. She decided she didn't particularly care since all outcomes would inevitably be the same and replied dryly. "Your sense of humour knows no bounds. You're going to call her anyway, why prolong the idle chit chat? I'm sure she'll just love to know what I've done this time." Though she tried to control the scowl at discussing Cora it still flickered across her features before she rebuilt the walls that kept her aloof façade up.

For a mild mannered man, Mr Hopper had his fair share of hawk like abilities at reading people. The brief reaction was enough for him to pick up on, and he knew the brunette had tried to hide it. "How are things at home, Regina?"

Regina schooled her features as best she could but couldn't dim the fire that burned within her dark eyes as she replied back with a clipped, "Fine." The way her fingers curled inwards to form fists said otherwise, but she was unaware of her bodies natural reaction.

"You get along with her well?" Pressed Mr Hopper gently. He had to tread carefully, he knew, but the way the brunette's jaw tensed he could already tell the guarded response would be neutral.

"Yes." Regina spat out after a moment, as if it took a great deal of effort just to utter that one word.

Mr Hopper raised his eyebrows with a thin, slightly tense, smile as he added, "No ups and downs or any tension?"

Teeth clamped down on the inside of Regina's lower lip. The pain that erupted from accidentally aggravating the split at the side almost made it easier to sigh out, "No." Whatever information he was fishing for he could cast his line elsewhere because the brunette would not take the damn bait.

"Good." Mumbled Mr Hopper as he smiled warmly. Best not to pry any further when it was painfully obvious he would get nowhere. To push someone who didn't wish to open up could be more damaging than anything else. "I'd like to propose an alternative to calling your foster mother. I believe it would be more beneficial to work with you here, than have you placed into detention. Think of it as a trade of sorts. Would that be acceptable to you?"

Regina frowned back at him with disbelief for a long moment. Then finally scoffed, "You want me to come here instead of detention, and in return you aren't going to call Cora?"

"Yes." Mr Hopper said through a genuine smile, the pen and notepad got replaced back onto the desk without any scribbles across the blank white page.

This had to be a trick. Regina's eyes narrowed in skepticism and she leaned forward to gaze at him curiously. "Why?" Surely he had some sort of ulterior motive.

Honesty, he believed, would always be the best policy. Especially when it came to establishing trust. It became crucial when it involved those who couldn't trust easily at all. Regina fell under that category and so he shrugged lightly. "You're very intelligent Regina. It would be a waste to leave you locked in a room when we could work on the triggers to your anger."

There it was, the motive behind the deal. Regina's teeth clenched together until her jaw ached then she all but growled, "You're assuming I want to be _fixed_."

Mr Hopper merely offered up a gentle smile and opened his palms like a magician proving he had nothing up his sleeves. "You're assuming I think you're broken."

Unsatisfied by that answer, Regina glared back at him and demanded quietly, "What do you get out of this?"

"I'm here to help." Mr Hopper said evenly, not at all concerned by the hostility as if he'd expected such a reaction. "I can only do that if you're willing to work with me."

Regina released a huff of breath through her nose like a disgruntled animal and brought her right hand up to brush her fingers through her hair. "How many days would I be required to show up here?"

"I'd like to see you at least two or three days a week for a minimum of half an hour." He said gently, as if that would help to coax the girl into agreeing.

Dark eyes narrowed as Regina considered it for no other reason than to _not_ be stuck in detention. "For how long?"

"Let's not worry about that for now. We may discuss it further on Monday during your free study." Although he could have suggested at some point tomorrow he felt that giving a little break between sessions gave the girl time to think about it. With any hope she'd even take it seriously.

Regina took that as an end to the conversation and stood up with an apathetic sigh of, "Delightful." When she shut the door behind her she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket to check the time. School finished in twenty minutes. There really was no point in going to class so she began to walk towards the nearest exit. She'd been about to put it back in her pocket when a message came through. The frown on her face changed to a ghost of a smile as she read three words that shouldn't hold such power as to lift her mood.

_Are you okay?_


	6. Chapter 6

Quiet halls were far easier to navigate. Behind closed doors the gentle chatter of classes being taught got reduced to murmurs. The words nothing more than unintelligible noise, light and fluttering, like verbal butterfly wings that caressed the ears. Regina found a modicum of peace from it as she walked through the double doors that lead outside and brought a hand up to shield her vision from the daylight. Sweet scents of spring carried through the breeze, flowers and cut grass to tantalize her senses as she began her walk home. She'd never really bothered about not having her own vehicle. If she wanted to catch a bus she easily could have, but the brunette enjoyed being outside. Unrestrained by physical barriers. She appreciated the gentle exercise as much as the air that brushed across her face and toyed with her hair. Out of all the elements air felt the most playful to Regina. An invisible force she considered a friend. One that greeted her every day to caress her face, tug at her clothes and whisper in her ear. The very spirit of life and freedom.

After half a block Regina slid her phone back out to re-read those three simple words and sighed. Assuming the blonde would be in class she decided to wait to send a message back. Though she was loath to admit it the concern touched her, but why it was being expressed only perplexed the brunette more. Denial of the moment that had taken place between them in the kitchen would be easy. Frankly, she'd gotten the impression that Emma had done exactly that. Blocked it out as if it never occurred. So why the text? If confusion were a scent the blonde would reek of it, Regina was sure of it. The only solution then, would be to distance herself from the blonde. Which said more than she really cared to say. If she felt the urge to put space between them then it made it pretty obvious that she must feel _something_ no matter how slight it might be. To protect herself from the potential of developing actual, honest, emotions when she'd worked so hard to keep herself closed off.

That didn't change the fact that on some level she liked Emma. Be it the way her kindness grated on her nerves or that she had the audacity to get in her face, the girl pushed buttons that nobody else had and it sparked something inside of Regina. Something she'd rather not think about let alone work out. Especially since Emma appeared to be struggling with coming to terms with herself. Personally, Regina had never felt any sort of crisis about attraction but she didn't have parents or family to worry about upsetting. The notion of how it could tear families apart disgusted the brunette because it seemed so trivial when nobody had a choice in the first place. Attraction, sex, love, whatever form it took between two people shouldn't matter providing it was consensual but society had it's own sets of rules. To go against the norm could be frightening for some. Liberating for others. Individuality might as well be seen a curse. In a modern world such differences created rifts when they should bridge gaps. If everyone were the same the world would be an incredibly boring place. At least, that's what Regina thought, as she stuffed her hands into her pockets and walked faster.

The rest of the way home Regina tried to keep her mind occupied by going over the things she'd like to do at the weekend. So absorbed with her thoughts she didn't register the bright VW Beetle parked down her street with nobody inside it. With her head bowed to dig the key out of her wallet she missed the figure step out from behind the pillar near the front door and almost dropped the key when she caught sight of Emma standing on the front step. "Could you be any more of a stalker!" Regina barked to disguise the fact that she'd almost jumped out of her skin. The brunette's heart thumped wildly as she pushed by the girl to stab the key into the lock and released a breath when she heard the familiar click. Fingers pushed the small piece of metal back into her wallet then curled around the handle. She swung the door open wide and stepped inside to turn and glare at the blonde. "What are you _doing_ here?"

Perhaps she ought to feel a little guilty at scaring Regina but in all honesty Emma found it funny. The amusement sparkled in her gaze as she watched the brunette enter the house as if it were able to vanquish the fear that had shot through her. "I didn't mean to scare you." The blonde grinned crookedly, not at all sorry. "You didn't answer my text and I…" Emma pressed her lips together and looked off to the side. She'd caught herself just in time but the red tinge to her cheeks said loud and clear what her tongue refused to utter. "I wanted to find out what the hell you were thinking pulling a stunt like that!" Yeah, annoyance would work to mask the worry that she'd felt. Wouldn't it? Irrational as it might be, once she'd gotten in her car, Emma had drove straight home and curled up on the couch like a dejected puppy. When she finally couldn't take wondering any longer she'd sent the brunette a text, and when she received no answer she'd gotten back into her car and inevitably found herself on Regina's street.

Regina snorted lightly and crossed her arms defensively across her chest. "You didn't." She shot back tersely with a lift of her chin, aware that she sounded like a five year old but unwilling to admit the blonde was right. Dark eyes narrowed when the girl paused and took in the sight of the blush. "I'm not expelled if that's what you were wondering and even though it's _none_ _of_ _your_ _business_ at the time I happened to be thinking of how much I was going to enjoy destroying him." The haphazard way her shoulders lifted, complete with the way she pursed her lips, expressed her lack of worry about the situation that had unfolded at lunch. Naturally she left out the part that involved Emma and how it had spiked the rage that took over.

Green eyes studied the brunette for a long moment before Emma shook her head slightly. "I don't get you." She finally stated with a sigh. The truth of that statement stung, because as much as she hated it, she was honest with herself that she _wanted_ to get the brunette. She wanted to understand _why_ she had done what she'd done, even if she couldn't rationalise it properly. "What did he do that annoyed you _that_ much? Not that I'm against him getting slapped around. I think the majority of female students would agree that they enjoyed it but…" Emma cocked her head to the side, a look of concern passed across her features then got replaced with a frown. "You do realise he has a lot of friends, right? Killian isn't the type of guy to let things slide, he's going to want to even the score, _with_ _interest_. Do you really think it was worth the trouble you've just invited your way?"

Regina didn't even feign surprise at the announcement and merely blinked back. Of course the blonde didn't get her. They hardly knew one another, and the brunette concealed as much of her inner workings as she possibly could from people. "I'm not going to stand here all day so you might as well come in if you wish to continue your interrogation." She said exasperated, then walked off with the kind of confidence that belonged to royalty, knowing that Emma would follow. "He made many derogatory remarks about what he would do to someone I-" Regina cleared her throat as she entered the kitchen to grab a glass of water. "About someone who deserves better than what he has to offer. The filth he spewed needed to be stopped." The brunette rinsed out a glass before she filled it and took her time as she sipped at it. When she turned to glance at Emma, the very girl she wanted to stay away from, the same one who showed up unannounced to check on her when she had no reason to do so, Regina's face softened. The hardened mask slipped just enough so that those dark eyes could convey a world of emotion. "Yes." She finally whispered, silently admiring the kindness inside the girl, who unwittingly proved her point. "It was worth it."

Emma faltered for a split second then stepped inside to shut the front door. Though she knew nobody else was home, more specifically the brunette's foster mother, she wondered when the woman might burst in. However, since Regina didn't appear to be worried about it she decided she didn't have to be either and caught up to her in the kitchen. Emma nervously licked her lips and kept herself away from the cooker as her eyes strayed towards it, and focused instead on what the girl had to say. Perhaps she was just used with Killian running his mouth, or the crass things that often spilled forth whenever he opened it, but that really didn't shock Emma. With a curious tilt of her head she inquired softly, "So what did he say?" The blonde cleared her throat and used her hip to lean against the kitchen island, long arms folding nonchalantly. "I mean, someone needs to know what to tell them to carve on your headstone to explain your untimely demise."

"Cute." Regina shot back with a quirk of a single dark eyebrow, effectively ignoring the first question. "I tell you what." She began slowly, and leaned back against the counter. "If you find me dead in a ditch somewhere, which lets face it is highly possible since you have a habit of just appearing randomly around me, you have my permission to get _level_ _one_ _complete_ written on my grave."

Emma masked the sincerity through humor the same way Regina bluffed her indifference towards it. Whether or not they were actually fooling one another was an entirely different story.

"You think this is funny." The words fell flat from Emma's lips. It wasn't a question so much as an unamused observation that she couldn't wrap her mind around. On the other hand she could understand protecting a friend because it was the kind of thing she'd do herself, but not like _that_. Not in the middle of school. Probably not with her fists either if she could help it.

"Well some people do view life as a game." Regina replied flippantly and set her glass of water aside. Why did it matter so much to the blonde? Then again the brunette didn't have a leg to stand on considering she'd gotten into a fist fight with a guy to… What exactly? Protect Emma's honor? Virtue? Regina had a sudden moment of pure clarity and established she'd lost her damn mind. The random acts of kindness from the girl had dislodged her brain or something. The idea that she might actually want to get to know her was horrifying. What had she become? All the more reason to keep her distance.

"Yeah well _I_ don't." That probably went without saying as Emma scowled back at the brunette disapprovingly. "You could have…" No. Screw it. She wouldn't give the girl the satisfaction of actually knowing she'd been sickened by the thought of her being hurt. Why should she? It wasn't like Regina cared that she'd thrown herself into danger. Since when did Emma entangle herself with reckless vagrants anyway? Right around the time she held a conversation with one that didn't consist of being told to fuck off. Emma felt frustration bubble up within her lanky frame and decided instantly that it was all Regina's fault. She'd been fine a few days ago and now? "You know what, it doesn't even matter!"

"All evidence points to the contrary." Regina spat out sarcastically. Body language told an entirely different story and for something that apparently didn't matter Emma sure looked agitated. Oh it mattered. Why else would she have shown up? Dark eyes narrowed as Regina pushed off of the counter to take a step towards the girl. "Why does my temerity bother you so much?"

"I'm not bothered!" Emma hissed back, her lips momentarily formed a thin white line before she flung her arms out to the sides. Shoulders soon lifted into an exaggerated shrug a few seconds later as she added, "Do what you want, it's not like we're friends." Yet, here she was, checking in on the brunette without a valid reason, as if they _were_.

"I can see that." Chuckled Regina in amusement. Only to shake it off and march into Emma's space with an aggravated snarl of, "What is it that you want from me?" Nobody did things for nothing. The moment they'd shared yesterday could be the very reason the blonde stood in front of her now. Part of the brunette hoped so while the rest of her feared it. Even if Emma refused to acknowledge that it _hadn't_ been entirely platonic intentions at play, Regina knew otherwise. The image of the blonde leaning towards her had played around in her mind and taunted her as she'd tried to sleep.

"Nothing." Even to her own ears the protest sounded weak. Emma cleared her throat and forced her gaze off of Regina's lips and back to her eyes with a scowl. All she'd wanted to do was make sure Regina hadn't been injured and now here they were on the cusp of annihilating one another with words. Well, she wasn't going to back down this time. Emma leaned towards the brunette to prove as much and growled out, "I want _nothing_ from you."

"_Liar_." Regina hissed acerbically, her face mere inches away from Emma's. Dark eyes locked with forest green and refused to look away. Their breath mingled as she continued condescendingly through a cold smirk. "You can't even admit it to yourself."

Emma's hand slapped against the kitchen island as she all but shouted back, "You're one to talk!" The conversation, or rather the argument, had begun to spin out of control but the blonde couldn't stop herself from adding to it. Sucked into the downward spiral with fire in her eyes.

"I know _exactly_ who I am, _Princess_." Regina reduced the distance between them by leaning in further. Dark eyes watched Emma's pupils dilate, took in the faint sheen of sweat that had broke out across the girl's forehead, and the nervous way she blinked. "_You're_ the one on the verge of freaking out."

"I am not!" She cried out indignantly, sounding anything other than calm. Belatedly Emma realised how counter productive that was and sucked in a deep breath to try and compose herself. "And I'm not confused either, I'm Emma _not Alice!"_ She spat the words out as if the taste of them were putrid. "Yeah, I figured out what you meant that day. You're so funny but guess what?" The blonde paused mid rant to swallow thickly. "You're _wrong_."

"Am I?" Regina scoffed lightly. The smirk that curved her lips positively wicked. "You don't sound so sure about that." Though she hadn't set out to hurt the blonde she didn't hold any punches when she let that smirk transform into a deceptively sweet smile. "Shouldn't you be getting home to pick out a nice outfit for your date tomorrow with, what was his name again, Neal?"

Panic flooded Emma's system like a toxin that caused a cold sweat to break out over her skin. "I am not dating Neal! Why would you…" The surge of anxiety that marred her features shifted to confusion as her brows furrowed. For a second she didn't say anything as her mind worked over what the brunette had said. Then she cocked her head to the side, voice soft as she mumbled, "Wait, how did you even know I was going to his party?" It seemed highly unlikely that Regina would be attending, especially after the very public confrontation with Killian.

Without missing a beat, Regina delivered her riposte with a bright grin. "You might want to tell him that. I overheard him talking in the lunch line. He's quite excited to spend time with you." Every little twitch of Emma's face told her quite clearly how perplexed the information made the blonde. Though she knew it would be nasty to taunt her further she decided it would be the best course of action. What was that saying? Go big or go home? Well, Regina was already home, she might as well go big. "I'm sure you two will have a blast dancing all night. Our generation is so lucky to have camera phones to capture the moment."

A look of pure horror was given to the brunette as Emma hissed loudly, "I'm not going with _him_, I'm going with my friends!" Friends that had those camera phones just like her. Pictures. They hadn't even entered her mind until now, and guaranteed if she so much as stood next to Neal, Ruby would snap off a few to show her the next again day. Proof of how _adorable_ they looked together. This was a nightmare already and the party didn't start until tomorrow night. Maybe she could get away with playing the ill card she'd pulled out during lunch. "Why am I even wasting my time explaining this to you? It's pointless." Emma stated more to herself than the girl avidly watching her begin to crumble.

"Why are you explaining it at all?" Regina threw back casually as she flipped her hair out of her vision. Part of her already knew but she wanted to flaunt it in the blonde's face. Make her see what she deemed as obvious with the intent to chase Emma away. "_I_ don't care who you date." The fact that Regina had just lied through her teeth meant nothing, according to the voice in the back of her head that tried so hard to convince her of it.

_"__I'm not dating anyone!"_ Emma's phrenetic yell bounced around the kitchen like a stray bullet and she flinched when it came back towards her. This was crazy. She _felt_ crazy. Like the sands in an invisible hourglass, her sanity lessened with every passing grain. The horrible sensation of running out of time weighed down on her shoulders and for the first time in her life, Emma felt empathy for Atlas.

Well, how about that. Regina watched intently as the girl freaked out and did nothing to help her free fall. Instead she fanned the flames and murmured bemused, "Curb your hysteria snowflake." Really, she didn't have to say that but she knew by doing so it would further set her off. If Regina's words were gasoline then she went out of her way to douse Emma with them. "This is none of my business."

Indignation evoked a stuttered gasp of breath from Emma because she couldn't find the words to express how pissed off being told to calm down made her feel. Teeth clenched together with a snap as her nostrils flared and she felt her short fingernails dig little crescents into the fleshy palm of her hand. "You're damn right it's not!" She all but barked.

Regina's smile turned devilish. White teeth flashed as she basked in the moment, knowing she was well on her way to unravelling Emma. If the blonde were a delicate tapestry then Regina would be the mischievous kitten hell bent on picking it apart. "Just like it's none of your business if I'm dating." The brunette's words were said flippantly without any hint of annoyance.

"Exactly!" Emma fumed, so caught up in the spat that she was about three seconds away from declaring herself the hulk and ripping the kitchen apart in frustration. Then Regina's words registered and sent her mind spinning. "Wait, what?" The blonde recoiled slightly, one hand lifted to run through her blonde hair as she searched the brunette's features. "You're dating someone?" Why did that feel like a knife in the gut? Emma's lips parted and the fight inside her wavered.

On no. _No_. Absolutely not. Regina would _not_ be deterred by Emma's kicked puppy expression or those big sad eyes that looked more green than the entire front lawn. She couldn't. This was for the best. They had to stay away from one another. Emma was the antithesis of Regina in every way, and the brunette planned on showing her that. "Whether I am or not has _nothing_ to do with you. We _just_ established that."

"You're right." Said Emma with a quiet sniff and haughty glare. "Which is perfect because _I don't care_." The emphasis on those words only served to showcase how false they were and belatedly she realised that. Unable to take them back she clenched her teeth instead, jaw muscles working as she slid hard calcium together in an effort not to say anything else that would be considered stupid.

"Oh, I know." Regina's tone was filled with a pout that she exaggerated for Emma's benefit. She raised her right hand to lightly ghost her fingertips against the girl's jaw and breathed out wickedly as she took her hand back. "That's why you're grinding your teeth. Lack of care."

Emma's eyelids threatened to flutter shut as that barely there touch tingled through her cheek and seemed to enter her bloodstream. The blonde's jaw muscles slackened as she drew in a shaky breath. The shiver that started to run down her spine, however, was cut short as the brunette taunted her. Emma stepped back and snapped, "You are such a headcase!"

Dark eyes crinkled at the sides as Regina beamed back at the blonde. One hand splayed against her chest as she absorbed the insult like it were the highest of praises. "Thank you." She murmured with glee.

"That is not a compliment!" If Emma's voice raised any higher the neighbourhood dogs would break down the door. How could this one girl leave her feeling so unhinged that she couldn't even control her own damn voice?

"To you, maybe." Regina offered a slight shrug of her shoulders and blinked up at Emma as if they were discussing the weather and not her mental health. Crazy as some might believe her to be, Regina was actually quite sane. She simply knew how to push people to their limits, and the blonde was reaching hers. The calmer the brunette sounded, the more frenzied Emma acted.

Emma's lips twisted into a sneer. With a shake of her head she stepped closer to get into the brunette's face just to whisper vehemently, "You're unbelievable, you know that?"

"What's unbelievable is that you're standing here without Aslan." Regina didn't even blink as she enunciated every single word directly up at Emma's face. All the while she maintained eye contact. Morbid fascination really, to see if the girl would _snap_ from it.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Green eyes narrowed but Emma didn't move an inch. Whatever game they were playing she wouldn't give in that easily. Despite how she tried to tread water before it went over her head, just to go toe to toe with Regina. Though what she was trying to prove eluded her now.

"Oh, do you need me to spell it out?" Regina cocked her head to the side and arched her eyebrows as if Emma were asking for directions and not clarification. One hand motioned towards the wall with a flourish as she smiled through her answer. "You're clearly well on your way to finding Narnia."

"That doesn't even make sense Narnia's found through a wardrobe not a clo-..." Emma caught herself just in time and pressed her lips together until they formed an angry white line. Animalistic noises tried to claw their way up her throat but she refused to let them out as she realised what Regina was doing. One slip of the tongue and the brunette would have all the ammunition she needed. "You think you're clever." She stated instead, not amused at all by the trickery.

"Actually I think you're suffocating." Regina sighed back with a wave of her hand. Really, she didn't need to say much at this point because it was abundantly clear that Emma had come precariously close to undoing herself already. Regina refused to let her own emotions interfere with what she said. Not in front of the blonde.

"I can breathe just fine!" The incredulous way Emma snarled the words out said otherwise. Even she realised that, as she struggled to keep her temper in check and wound up red faced and on the verge of panting instead.

"Can you?" Inquired Regina smoothly. The brunette took half a step closer to the tall blonde and looked up at her through dark lashes coyly. "All those secret desires you bottle up inside are going to choke you sooner or later." The gentle way she spoke almost soothed the sting of her words but she grinned up at Emma and took a moment to drag her teeth across her lower lip, aware of how provocative it would look. "Am I in any of them?" She whispered softly.

Emma's face burned as blood rushed up her neck to taint her pale features a brilliant shade of crimson. Had Regina floated in and out of her fantasies over the past few days? Yes, she had. Anyone with eyes could see that the brunette was attractive. Frankly, every time the blonde caught sight of her at school she had a visualgasm, but there was so much _more_ to the girl than just her looks. She intrigued Emma the way nobody else ever had. That didn't mean she had to tell Regina though. In fact, she damn well would deny it if pressed. "You have no idea what you're talking about, or for that matter, _me_."

"Of course I don't." Regina agreed easily. The blonde had turned a rather glorious shade of ripe tomato and she took a moment just to appreciate the sight of it before concluding bitterly, "I just spend all my time chasing leprechauns around for their pots of gold at the end of rainbows."

"I said I was sorry!" The way Emma's entire body seemed to slump expressed her own regret for such a silly remark but it washed away quickly as she straightened up to bite back, "And for the record _I know who I am!"_

Dark hair fluttered into Regina's vision as she nodded slowly. Absently she pushed it behind her ear, a triumphant grin spread across her full lips. "I suspect you do, but that's not the issue is it?"

"Oh what, are you going to impart some kind of _miscreant_ _wisdom_ on me now?" The gloves were off. Emma had had enough of this and she sure as hell wasn't going to stand around and just take it. She could give as good as she got. Right? The blonde hoped so as she set her jaw and squared her shoulders.

"How can I resist after that?" The question was rhetorical as Regina licked her lips and shot a dangerous glance towards the blonde. If looks could kill, Emma would be about to take her last breath. "You're problem isn't knowing _who_ you are." The brunette crossed the blonde's personal space to lean in and whisper warmly, millimeters away from Emma's ear, "It's fearing that nobody else would understand if they found out."

Emma wasn't sure who she hated most right then. Regina or herself. The blonde's body reacted to the close proximity of the girl, the whispered words taunted her but her breath? Oh, her breath sent tingles straight through Emma's body like an electrical current. So when she tried to retaliate, tried to sound tough, all that escaped was a gruff, "You're out of your mind."

Regina grinned, her eyes briefly closed as she savoured the way Emma's voice had dropped an octave and took the opportunity to breathe in the scent of the girl. She always smelled like summer to Regina, the promise of warm days and thriving nature. "I'd rather be out of it than stuck inside it like you are." She exhaled the words against Emma's neck then sighed and stepped back. "I've never been a fan of confined spaces."

Betrayed by her body, Emma could do nothing but stand there as her senses calmed down enough for her to remember how _furious_ she felt. The fact that her breaths were slightly erratic only pissed her off more and she growled low in her throat, "Shut the hell up, it doesn't even affect you!"

"You're right, it doesn't. It _never_ will." This was it. Regina had the chance to stick the knife in and she went for it automatically. It came so easily, so _naturally_, that for the first time she actually experienced disgust with herself. "Because I would rather be _dead_ than involved with someone who felt so ashamed of who they were that they had to hide from _everyone_ in their life."

The force of the brunette's words were like a slap that caused Emma to recoil back a few steps as she blinked. The anger that simmered within her dampened as her jaw dropped. In an attempt to recover she crossed her arms to appear bigger, but in reality she was trying to comfort herself. Hold herself together just a little longer so she could shout in Regina's face. "Good for you! Have fun up there on your pedestal, the lack of oxygen obviously hasn't done anything to improve your caustic personality!"

"Your big words wound me." They didn't, not even a tiny bit, but the look of hurt on Emma's face? That cut deeper than any blade. Regina kept up her mask of indifference and sneered at the girl as she twisted the verbal knife to get it over with. "Oh wait, they don't, because I'm comfortable in my own skin." The look she shot Emma said _better luck next time._ "Thanks for showing up unannounced again. It's been _so_ nice catching up." Regina dismissed the blonde with a flick of her wrist as if shooing away a child that demanded attention.

Pain flashed within the depths of Emma's green eyes and she tried to hide her gasp with a quick turn of her head as she pivoted and began to stomp her way out of the kitchen with one last parting shot of sarcasm. "Yeah the pleasure was all mine."

Regina had no desire for a repeat performance so she added the final nail to the coffin by calling out to the blonde as she walked away. "Unless your closets a walk in and you have someone hogtied to keep them escaping I seriously doubt it."

The sound of unintelligible anger floated through the air like a snarling, wounded animal had crawled into the foyer. No words, just noise, then the sound of the front door as it slammed shut so hard that Regina wondered if the hinges had come loose. The brunette took a moment just to lean against the kitchen island and breathe. The sound of her own pulse echoed within her ears. Slowly, she made her way into the hallway, and paused at the mirror to regard her reflection. Dark eyes narrowed, and she pointedly ignored the glassy, wet sheen that covered them. "Problem solved." She muttered bitterly, then with a sniff Regina walked up the stairs and sank heavily onto her bed and buried her face against her pillow.

* * *

The entire drive home Emma had clung onto her anger as if it were armour. The front door got treated to the same abuse as Regina's had and when nobody yelled at her she knew she was alone in the house. Half way up the stairs the first tear leaked it's way free and dripped down the side of her nose. By the time she made it into her bedroom salt water flowed freely down her cheeks and wetted the front of her shirt. She felt so _stupid_ for actually being upset. And even worse because while Regina might have been a bitch, she had been _right_ about a lot of things. Emma tried to wrap what remained of her rage around herself to block out the pain. Itchy fingers began to shred the old boy band posters that stuck to her walls with vigor to release the turmoil she felt inside. Emma had stopped listening to them two or three years ago but they had always seemed so safe to have up. They didn't feel safe now. They felt like lies that were mocking her. All the things that she'd decorated her walls with had either been gender neutral, like the panther creeping out of the jungle or the stars above an ocean, or they consisted of bands that only contained guys. No girls anywhere. Why had she never noticed this before? A pained noise clawed its way up her throat and forced itself out as a snarl between her clenched teeth. Fingers twisted and tore every band off her four walls and ripped them into confetti that she scrunched up and stuffed into her waste paper basket. Once the last poster had been destroyed Emma crumbled on top of her bed, emotionally exhausted.

Half an hour later Mary Margaret returned home with David, happy to note that their daughter happened to be home. The yellow beetle had been parked in the driveway but there was no sign of Emma downstairs. With a frown, Mary Margaret left her husband in the kitchen to venture upstairs. Emma's door was shut but there was no music filtering through it. No sign of life at all, and that unnerved the woman. She gave a light knock with her knuckles, waited a few seconds, then pushed the door open to peer inside. The sight of a red eyed, wet faced blonde blinked sluggishly back at her from where she lay on top of her duvet. "Emma…" Mary Margaret began, gently testing the waters for what kind of reaction her daughter might have, "Have you been crying?"

"No." If Emma's red rimmed eyes weren't proof enough then the thick sound of her voice surely gave her away. "Just allergies. I'll be fine." She maintained the lie as casually as she could and lowered her gaze to the blanket she had curled around. "What's for dinner?" She asked in a voice entirely too small for the height she now was.

Mary Margaret stood cautiously in the doorway and took in the listless form of her daughter who had just lied to her face. Emma didn't have allergies, but pressing for information would only spark an argument and it was clear that her daughter was hurting enough. Without wanting to draw attention to it and embarrass Emma, she merely nodded and allowed the change of topic. "I thought maybe we'd order take out tonight. You're dad suggested chinese but I figured we could vote two to one on pizza. What do you say?"

"Pizza sounds good to me." Emma mumbled through a watery smile that failed to reach her eyes. "Call me when it gets here?" She asked quietly, her own way at requesting she be left alone to wallow in her misery.

With a nod and a smile Mary Margaret made her way back downstairs and found her husband hovering over a chopping board, ready to get a start on making dinner. She wrapped her left hand around his bicep to still his arm and shook her head. "Rain check on the stir-fry, I just told Emma we're ordering pizza."

"Oh." David frowned slightly and set the knife down so he could turn to face his wife. "Not that I'm complaining about the change but why are we suddenly having pizza?"

Mary Margaret shifted uncomfortably then sought comfort in her husband's arms. She leaned against his solid chest and sighed forlornly as he hugged her close, "She's been crying, David. She tried to cover it with a lie about allergies but…" Mary Margaret shook her head, a look of worry etched across her face. "I didn't want to pry when she looked so vulnerable, and if she doesn't want to talk about it…"

David's own face clouded over with worry, but it softened as he regarded his wife with the kind of love that could make someone swell with pride. "Then you figured comfort food would be a step in the right direction."

"Yeah." Mary Margaret admitted softly. "Something's going on with her, I just wish I knew what it was so I could… I don't know. Guide her, hug her, tell her everything's going to be alright. Maybe a mixture of all three. Whatever it is I don't think pizza and cocoa are going to cure it this time and that's…"

Strong arms tightened around Mary Margaret as David pressed a kiss to her temple. "Scary." He said quietly, and gave her a light squeeze. "I know, but she's a good kid and she's growing up fast. All we can really do is show her that we're here if she needs us and trust that if she does, she'll come to us with whatever is getting her down."

"When did you get so wise?" Mary Margaret nudged her husband gently with an elbow to lighten the mood and stepped out of his embrace. "I'm going to call in our order, you can put all this away before it arrives and we're busted." She waved her hand towards the various vegetables and pork that had been spread out over the counter and vanished out of the kitchen to find the take out menu.

"Yes dear." David murmured teasingly after his wife, then turned to grab everything in his large hands to stuff back in the fridge, out of sight.


	7. Chapter 7

The fluorescent light flickered to life with a quiet click and low hum . Illuminating the shelves inside. An edible trophy case, showing what it had to offer. Cool air filtered out and caressed the brunette's face, and she sighed in return as her eyes went to the transparent plastic tub that sat in the middle of the top shelf. Right where she'd put it two days ago. The rest of the contents in the fridge were ignored. Overlooked as she focused solely on the tub, unable to reach for it. Sure that she didn't deserve to even possess it. Drawn to it all the same. A beacon that taunted her. The longer she gazed at it the more she didn't see it. Replaced by the images in her mind. Furious green eyes that widened in pain. Her stomach no longer felt empty. It felt heavy and weighed down with cold stones.

"Eat it." A familiar voice stated behind her in exasperation.

Regina felt herself frown as her back tensed. The fingers of her right hand curled tighter around the handle of the door until her knuckles turned white. "No." The word fell from her lips to land flat on the floor at her feet.

"If you don't eat it then you'll need to throw it out, and that's just a waste." Reasoned Tracy as she walked around to peer over her friend's shoulder. Truth be told she couldn't work out what the big deal was, and it showed as she turned to eye the brunette suspiciously.

Silence lingered as Regina continued to stare at the tub. After a moment, she sucked in a deep breath and spat out tersely, "I can't." As if just saying those two words were offensive. Some sort of weakness that she felt loathe to admit out loud. Even to herself.

Tracy narrowed her eyes and shifted to lean on the other side of the fridge to _really _look at Regina. Something had been going on with her the whole day. The brunette had been present physically but mentally it felt like she'd been elsewhere and this? This was starting to get weird, even for her. "What do you mean you _can't?"_

Dark eyes rolled as Regina heaved out a sigh and forced herself to look at her friend for a split second. "Physically yes, of course I can." The brunette shook her head and redirected her gaze back to the top shelf. Back to the container. Did she really have to clarify what she meant? Wasn't it _obvious _already? "I mean I don't want it right now. I'm not in the mood for something sweet."

"That's horse shit." Tracy snorted derisively.

One haughty eyebrow lifted as Regina turned slowly to scowl at the blonde. "Excuse me?"

"Regina take a look at the island." Tracy pointed behind her with a look that said she wasn't to be tested and waited until brunette turned her attention to it before she continued. "See the two packs of hot tamales, the milk duds and the bowl of popcorn? Those are not savoury snacks."

The muscles in Regina's jaw twitched as she clenched her teeth. She was all too aware of what they had selected to take back into the living room with them. After all, it had been her own idea to pause the game to get something sugary, preferably covered in chocolate. "Exactly." She stated, then sniffed as she brought her dark gaze to Tracy. Automatically she changed tactics and offered a small smile. "I don't need any more sugar. Neither do you or we'll end up in a coma."

Tracy raised both hands to wave around like a wild magician that had forgotten the next trick. The blonde sputtered out, "Beside the point." Only to shake her head in annoyance. This wasn't about sugar. It wasn't about food at all. Which left very few options considering they both knew where the damn thing came from and one of them seemed hell bent on avoiding that fact.

Regina merely blinked. Content to feign ignorance as she kept her mask up, and replied coolly, "Care to enlighten me?" In a way that suggested she was conversing with a simpleton. Insults were a good defence, providing the person had no idea that's what they were. Unfortunately she knew her friend would see through it, but still, better to appear normal than unusual.

Tracy took a moment to just run her fingers through her hair as she deflected the barb. It granted several seconds in which she had the chance to compose herself, and form exactly what she had wanted to say, since the last time they'd came in to get soda. "Every single time we come into the kitchen you open the fridge and just stand there, staring at the stupid pastry like it's about to come to life and tell you the future. You're well on your way to either making it a shrine or shaking it like a magic eight ball, and I'm not sure which is worse."

"You're being over dramatic. I do _not_ stand and stare at it every time we come in here." The lie sounded rational. It tasted sane on her tongue and Regina smiled in that pleased way that could mean anything from 'I'm genuinely happy' to 'any second now I'm going to make you swallow your own teeth'.

Tracy stood her ground and went so far as to raise her chin slightly to prove that she had no intentions of being swayed. "Yes. _You do. _I just don't know _why_. What's the big deal? You like apple. Is it too good to eat, or do you actually think she spat in it or something disgusting like that?"

"I know that." Regina snapped then pressed her lips together and closed her eyes to save herself the trouble of rolling them. With a deep breath she opened her eyes again to glance at Tracy and stated lightly, "I am aware of things I do and do not like, thank you very much."

Tracy returned the haughty gaze head on. When she spoke her tone was firm as she pointed towards the tub. "Then either eat it or name it because sooner or later it'll sprout legs and walk out of here on its own."

Regina's features shifted in disgust as she gazed at the tub warily. Perhaps it would keep in the freezer. Though, it ran the risk of being found by Cora, who would no doubt assume it was a sign of guilt. "Well, now I've lost my appetite entirely."

Tracy held one hand up as if to shush her friend. Then the blonde cocked her head and brought her hand over to her ear as she whispered, "Do you hear that?"

On impulse Regina leaned towards her friend and dropped her voice too. "Hear _what?" _

"The sound of me not believing a single thing you say!" Tracy all but boomed dramatically in the otherwise silent kitchen. The brief flash of shock on Regina's face had been worth the increased volume and she grinned at the brunette.

"I don't own enough pain killers to counter the migraine you're going to give me." Regina sighed back, already tired of the conversation and yet smart enough to know it had only just begun.

"Good." Announced Tracy, with a look of pride that she knew her friend would silently applaud. "It'll teach you not to be so stubborn."

"Oh please." Scoffed Regina as she flipped her hair out of her vision, "I'll only be more stubborn to spite you."

"Finally some truth." Tracy sassed back with a pleased smile of her own. Though it didn't last long as she frowned and attempted to shoo her friend away from the fridge by waving her hands. "Get out of the way."

"Very funny." Regina replied dryly with a roll of her eyes. On the surface she looked aggravated but under it she quietly enjoyed the way they could banter together. Harsh words were never actually _harsh words_, not between the two of them. Which baffled anyone who overheard them bicker at school. Without moving so much as an inch, Regina narrowed her eyes suspiciously to query, "Why do I need to move?"

Tracy exhaled a sigh so weary it was a wonder that she remained standing. "I'm sick of catching you with your head in the fridge so I'm going to throw it out." The look she added to accompany her tone suggested a silent _duh. _

"What?" Startled, Regina promptly slammed the fridge door shut and stepped in front of it to block her friend. "Absolutely not!"

Tracy's frown transformed into a triumphant smile as she witnessed how quickly the brunette moved to guard it. "So you _do _want to eat it." She laughed, evidently pleased at her own tricks to weasel the truth out of her friend. Sometimes it had to be done. She didn't always have the patience to pull teeth.

"No. I don't." Regina enunciated slowly and crossed her arms over her chest. Damn it, why hadn't she realised it had been a ruse? Probably because she hadn't been thinking clearly. Which had everything to do with low blood sugar and nothing at all to do with anyone else. If she said it enough in her head she might even start to believe it.

One golden eyebrow quirked. "But it means something to you." Tracy spoke just as slowly. Grin still in place as she dared the brunette to deny what was abundantly obvious now.

Regina sniffed and brought her right hand up to brush through her dark hair as she muttered dismissively, "I never said that either."

Oh, she wasn't about to let the brunette play it down. The blonde was on to something here and she was pretty sure she knew the answer already. However, such opportunities to tease Regina were few and far between and she planned to get as much use out of it as she could. Tracy regarded her friend a moment longer then said rather deadpan, "Do us both a favour and just take a picture of the damn thing then."

Regina's gaze shifted towards the popcorn while she pursed her lips just enough for her chin to jut out like a stubborn child. She wanted to say something witty or cutting, preferably both, but all it took was three seconds for her neck to warm and by then she couldn't focus on anything else.

"You've got to be kidding." Tracy's jaw dropped slightly from a mixture of amusement and surprise and she shook her head. Silent laughter caused her shoulders to shake as she prompted, "You already took one, didn't you?"

Regina released a huff of breath through her nose and shot her friend a dirty look. "Stop being so callow." She chided, not nearly as forcefully as she'd hoped. "Come on." She waved towards their snacks absently. "The game isn't going to play itself."

"Oh we'll get back to that in a minute." No way were they going anywhere after that kind of information. Everything had just started to make a hell of a lot of sense. It was right in front of Regina's face but as usual it appeared that her friend refused to acknowledge the obvious. Rather, she was going out of her way to ignore it as best she could. Time to put an end to that. Tracy's eyes sparkled with mischief as she inquired not so innocently, "What's so special about the danish that it can't be eaten _or _thrown out? Does it grant wishes? Are you going to _plant it _in the hope that it'll grow?"

"There's nothing special about it!" Regina realised belatedly that her voice had gone dangerously close to being as shrill as it ever got, and she forced herself to walk around the kitchen island to pour a glass of water. The brunette took her time, and went so far as to sip at it repeatedly, until she felt herself relax enough to face her friend currently still watching her. "Now…" She sighed, and set the half empty glass back on the counter. "Can we please go back into the living room?"

"Well since you asked so nicely… _No!"_ Tracy made herself comfortable by leaning against the island to rest her forearms around the bowl of popcorn. It wasn't a possessive gesture so much as one that made it clear they weren't finished talking yet. "You've been acting weird all day and I've let it go, but this is strange even for you."

"I don't have to justify my behaviour to you." Regina all but snarled out, instantly offended. "Furthermore, I have not been acting _weird_." Had she been? And just not noticed? What exactly had she done that she couldn't remember? Nothing. Regina shook away the doubt to finish with a nod of self-assurance, "I've been perfectly fine."

"Oh really?" Tracy asked rhetorically. The fact that her friend looked genuinely puzzled made her want to laugh but she knew that would end badly. Instead she kept her face as blank as she could and carried on. "So avoiding the cafeteria at lunch to walk around the school grounds is normal then, is it?"

"Exercise is important." Regina didn't even hesitate as the words left her mouth. A pre-prepared excuse formed at the time. "Especially since we both knew we'd be eating our body weight in junk and binge playing video games until our eyes bleed."

"Really." Tracy arched her eyebrows and let the corners of her mouth curve up in amusement. "_That's_ what you're going with?"

Where exactly did Tracy plan to go with this? Why even bother to bring it up now, hours later? A quick glance at the clock confirmed that it was close to midnight. Confused, Regina narrowed her eyes and shrugged. "Do you grudge going for a walk?"

"It was _raining!"_ They'd been the only two wandering around in it while everyone else had either gone inside or sought shelter under archways leading to different parts of the building. It hadn't really bothered Tracy beyond the initial chill the breeze had brought with it, she had no desire to tell Regina that, it would ruin the fun she was currently having. "Okay fine. What about our study period? Explain _that _to me."

Regina's brows furrowed as she thought back to their free period and she came up blank. "I don't understand." She finally admitted. "We didn't do anything."

"Yeah exactly. We _never_ just sit in the class. You weren't even drawing. You just sat there for the whole period barely saying a word." Tracy watched the array of emotions wash across Regina's features and grinned as the cogs in her friends head began to turn. There it was, the spark of realisation in dark eyes. The truth behind her actions that she fought so hard to conceal.

It slowly dawned on Regina where her mind had been during that class. She hadn't noticed how much time had passed until the moment the bell rang. Almost an entire hour wasted. Lost in thought about the one person she'd worked so hard to keep out of her life. She'd sat and mentally replayed the events of what she'd done the day before. Right in this very kitchen. The irony that her own behaviour was the very reason she couldn't get the blonde out of her mind wasn't lost on the brunette. Which explained the sudden annoyance as she spat back, "Can't I just sit around while my lunch digests? Do you _want _me to feel bloated?"

Tracy had expected anger the second she had began to verbally prod her friend, and wasn't disappointed in the slightest. Anger and denial went hand in hand but how many excuses could Regina really make on the spot? Would she crack around the edges? Cave and just admit that she had the capacity to feel things despite her best efforts to pretend she didn't? The blonde wanted to find out. "On what, _air_? You didn't eat anything!"

"You're being ridiculous." Regina countered quickly, perhaps too quickly, as she shifted to lean her hip against the island to snag a small handful of popcorn. "I had the ham sandwich I brought." She finished smugly, then ate a few pieces with a victorious crunch as her lips twisted into a smirk.

"No, the birds had the sandwich you brought." Tracy fired back with a grin of her own. Did the brunette honestly think she wouldn't have spotted the way she casually tore off small chunks to throw at her feet as they walked? "_You _had half a pack of gum and oxygen." The blonde raised her eyebrows as if to say 'go on, counter that, I dare you'.

"I…" The smirk on Regina's lips faltered and soon became non existent as she realised how true her friend's statement happened to be. Gradually every word from Tracy's mouth backed her into a corner, the feeling was unpleasant and served no purpose other than to further annoy the brunette. "Well, so what? Obviously I wasn't feeling hungry. It's not a crime."

"Obviously." Tracy sighed out dryly. Inside though, she was filled with childish glee. Regina's facial expressions might not give much away when she fought so rigorously to remain composed but her eyes could say everything if you knew what to look for. "Moving on, why did we skip the short cut through the parking lot on our way back here after school? And don't you dare say exercise again."

Lips parted then closed as Regina swallowed back the exercise excuse. Fine. She didn't need it anyway. Too obvious. No, what she needed was something new. Plausible. Calculated enough to potentially be true, Seconds later her face lit up as she smiled sweetly. "I've been looking forward to tonight and wanted to minimise the risk of being run over."

For a precarious moment Tracy did nothing but gawk at her friend, utterly flabbergasted. Only to snap out of it with an incredulous, "Do you actually hear the words you're saying?"

"I…" Relief washed through Regina as her phone blared to life and she actually sighed. The kind reserved for sinking into a warm bath or comfy bed after a long, tedious day. The number didn't look familiar and the person didn't belong in her contacts, yet right then she didn't care. It was the perfect way to end the conversation with Tracy. With a smug grin she answered the call and regretted it immediately. Music blasted through the speaker and Regina winced, "Yes?" When she received no answer she raised her voice to make sure she'd be heard, "Hello? Who is this?" Voices in the background mingled with the song playing and then the line went dead.

"Who was that?" Tracy asked curiously, noticing the confused expression Regina had given her phone before she slipped it back into her pocket.

"No idea." Regina admitted lightly, then shrugged. "Wrong number I guess." With that said she picked up the bowl of popcorn and turned on her heel to make her way back into the living room without a backwards glance. Pleased that her friend had been as distracted by the call.

Tracy frowned down at the two packets of hot tamales and the milk duds then quickly grabbed them up to make her way out of the kitchen with a yell of, "This conversation isn't over, Regina!"

"_Yes it is!"_ Regina called back, already settled on the couch.

* * *

One drink turned into another with no solution at the bottom of the plastic cup. Perhaps it would appear if she filled it up again. The idea was entertained quietly as the punchbowl was stirred absently. The pink liquid swirled slowly, sliced lemon bobbed on the surface and floated around and around lazily. Bottles lined the counter. Copious amounts of hard liquor within reach for those who fancied something a little less sweet. Despite the noise of the party, despite all the bodies that filled the house, nothing drowned out the thoughts of Regina. The brunette effortlessly pushed all of Emma's buttons. She'd stayed awake late last night pondering everything she'd said, and hated it because the girl had been right. _Well fuck her. _Emma thought to herself. Long fingers tightened around the handle of the ladle until knuckles ached, then she let it go to land with a splash and took out her phone. A few swift clicks brought up a number and she scowled at it. She'd regretted leaving without more of a fight. She'd almost ground the enamel off her teeth during lunch when Regina had failed to appear, because it had ruined her plans to march over and give the girl a piece of her mind. Well she'd give her a piece of it now. With a rough push of her thumb Emma brought her phone up to her ear. Every ring she heard fuelled her on. The sound of Regina's voice, however, robbed her of the words she'd gathered on the tip of her tongue. Emma clenched her teeth and huffed out a breath through her nose in frustration. The curious, and somewhat confused question made her reel. The brunette had no idea it was her. The bitch had deleted her number. Emma opened her mouth once more to spew some very choice obscenities down the line but was cut off by a friendly shoulder bump.

"What are you doing?" Ruby murmured as she leaned down to settle her chin on Emma's shoulder lightly. The lanky brunette sighed and tried to peek at the screen but rolled her eyes when she got denied the privilege.

Immediately the blonde ended the call and stuffed her phone back into her pocket. "Oh, just checking my messages and getting a refill." The lie was breezy as she stepped away from her friend, the scowl hidden, to pick up the ladle again. She poured the pink liquid into her cup and watched it slosh up the insides like miniature tidal waves. A physical representation of how her own emotions felt contained within her skin. With a slight nod towards her friend Emma inquired lightly, "You want one?"

"You know I do." Ruby laughed, and held out her own cup to be filled. "I can't believe how many people are here." She half yelled over the music as it changed. "It's insane!"

Emma carefully dumped a full ladle into her friends cup and rolled her eyes. _Lame. _Her mind corrected, as her eyes tracked a group of people standing around a tequila bottle. "Proof that money really _can _buy friends." She said said dryly, and stepped away from the kitchen counter with a look of disdain to the guy who shuffled towards the bowl.

Ruby didn't even try to hide the sigh as she looked towards the ceiling as if silently asking for strength. "Well _we _were invited. So get that down you, pour another, and lets get our dance on." There was no friendly request, just a clear instruction as she she brought her own drink to her lips as if to lead by example. They were meant to be enjoying themselves and Emma was bringing down the mood. One way or another, Ruby vowed silently, she would make sure the blonde finally had some fun, even if it killed her.

Alcohol on a sour mood was like gasoline on a fire but Emma came to the conclusion that she had nothing to lose and raised her own cup to her lips. Five large gulps and the punch was gone, leaving behind sticky saliva and a desire for more to quench her thirst. "Where's Belle?" She cocked her head and used the back of her hand to wipe across her mouth.

"That girl is a secret pool shark once she's had a drink." Ruby grinned slightly, impressed that her friend put up no struggle as she downed the contents of her cup. She quickly finished off her own drink and leaned against the counter. One thumb jabbed over her shoulder in direction as she finished with a laugh. "She's off hustling a couple of guys, it's a sight to behold."

Emma merely nodded, no trace of a smile as her mind worked over the call she'd just aborted. Why did she choke when she heard her voice? The low, vaguely husky tone had thrown her off. It seemed amplified through the tiny speaker. "We should bring her a drink." Emma added absently, and reached for the ladle to fill both of their cups again.

"Nah she has one." Ruby said through a bright grin, and snagged Emma's arm before her friend had the chance to take a sip of her drink. "Come on, I love this song." The announcement was followed by her enthusiastically pulling the blonde along behind her, narrowly avoiding elbows as they made their way through the crowd to get back into the heart of the party.

Over the years Emma had given up on how cavalier Neal's father seemed to be about throwing such lavish parties. Anything Neal wanted, he got, and anyone that upset him didn't seem to stick around for very long once his father caught wind of it. Most people feared the man but Emma didn't know him well enough to fear him. She just felt confused by him, and a little creeped out. He was like a wet painting, everything looked right on the surface but if you interacted with him you'd see how oily he truly was. There was just something about him that screamed to the blonde to tread carefully around him whenever he showed up. She couldn't explain why, but her instincts were loud and clear. Neal's father couldn't be trusted.

Green eyes sought out Neal as Ruby coaxed her into yet another dance to a song Emma barely cared for and she sighed when Killian sidled up to him with a trademark smirk. Honestly, after the public humiliation anyone with any sort of self respect would at least look a little bothered, but not him. The two friends stood together as a couple of guys walked up, each one shook Killian's hand and he in turn slapped them on the back and grinned wider. Were they actually congratulating him?

Emma leaned into Ruby as the lanky brunette gyrated against her and tried to ignore the fact that several people were staring at them. "What's the deal with the guys all shaking hands with Killian?" She hissed loudly over the music.

Ruby barely paused her movements as her big eyes flicked towards the new group all laughing with Neal and Killian."Oh, his brother scored him a few magic beans for the party." She said with a shrug, like her words actually made sense.

"Magic what?" Emma inquired, utterly confused as her eyebrows scrunched together.

"Beans." Ruby enunciated, then rolled her eyes before generously explaining. "He says it sounds less illegal than pills." At the wide eyed shock on her friends face, the brunette quickly added, "Emma, you need to lighten up, we're all here to have fun."

"I am lightened!" Emma shot back indignantly, then narrowed her eyes and took a large gulp of her drink to prove her point. Belatedly she wondered why she felt like he had to prove anything to anyone. Least of all Ruby Lucas. "Wait, have you taken one?"

"No!" The brunette fired back, and managed to look a little offended despite her own curiosity towards the effects they might cause if she ever did try one. "I'm happy enough with this." With a deep breath in she decided to change the topic entirely, and leveled the blonde with a look. "You're still crashing here tonight, right? Neal gave us the guest room at the back of the house. Belle put our bags in it earlier when you went to the bathroom."

Shit. Emma had completely forgotten about her bag. Why Ruby thought it would be a great idea to stay over and nurse a hangover at the source of the pain the next again day was beyond the blonde and she sucked her teeth before sighing out, "Oh I don't know, Ruby…"

"Look my Gran thinks I'm staying over at Belle's." Ruby pointed out, not nearly as casually as she thought. "Belle's dad thinks she's staying over at mine and your mom thinks…" She trailed off and stopped dancing as the cogs in her head turned sluggishly over. The effects of alcohol well on their way to slowing down her cognitive function. "What did you tell your mom again?"

Emma regarded the brunette for a quiet moment then filled in the blanks dryly. "That we were camping."

"See? So crash here. I mean what are you going to do, call your mom after midnight and ask her to come pick you up?" Ruby laughed at her own joke and added, only half seriously, "You'll be grounded until graduation."

"I'd call my dad." The blonde supplied lightly, then grinned a little. "I'm pretty sure he slipped a few beers into my bag along with a pack of marshmallows and stuff for s'mores." Emma's eyes darted towards the staircase. Chocolate sounded good right about now.

"I can't decide if that's cool or weird." Ruby mumbled around a slight pout and playfully shoved her friend as she stated, "Either way, I think I kind of hate you now."

"You're just jealous because if your Granny caught you drinking you'd be in the dog house for weeks." The offhand remark caused Emma's face to light up as she recalled a memory, and she grinned wickedly at the brunette. "Like that time you brought a flask of her scotch and thought she'd never notice because you filled the bottle back up with cold tea."

Completely offended, Ruby gaped at her friend before launching into a small tangent as she raised her finger to signify how serious she was. "Okay first of all the colours looked the same to me and it tasted so bad I thought she'd never be able to tell the difference and second, shut up! I had to scrub the toilet and do all the laundry for a month, on top of my other choirs. Stop laughing!"

Emma's shoulders shook as laughter spilled out of her and she sucked in a deep breath to continue. "I can still see her standing there holding the bottle, outraged that you contaminated the rest by daring to dilute it. She'd have probably forgiven you if you hadn't done it. That just makes it funnier." She finished, giggling into her cup as she tried to stop the flow of amusement.

"You suck, Emma." Ruby prodded her friend sharply with her fingertip then sighed forlornly. "She'll never let me live it down, you know,"

"What's this about sucking I hear?" Asked a voice from behind them.

Without even turning around Emma knew exactly who it was and her short lived good mood got squashed instantly. "You see what you've done Ruby? It's like saying Bloody Mary in the mirror, you deal with him."

"Pass." Ruby spat out quickly, and flashed a grin towards Emma. "I'm going to go check on Belle, maybe she needs a fresh drink by now."

"Ladies, there's no need for that." The tone was amused as the figure shifted to stand between them. "Can't a man just have a dance without you fighting?"

Emma resisted the urge to make a gagging motion and settled instead for a less than sincere small smile as she turned to face him. "We're not fighting _over _you Killian, we're fighting about who gets _stuck _with you."

"On that note, I'm off to see Belle, have fun you two!" Ruby practically danced away cackling, knowing full well that if looks could kill, she'd be dead from the glare Emma was no doubt directing at her back.

"That we will." Killian murmured into Emma's ear. The close proximity gave him the chance to cover her drink with his hand momentarily. Plenty of time to drop the pill into the pink liquid without her, or anyone else, seeing. When he stepped back it was only so he could get in her face to stop her from walking off. "Now, about that dance?"

"I would but… Uh…" Emma looked around desperately for any kind of excuse. With her friends out of sight and everyone else either dancing or talking, she was left with very little options. The only one she could think of was in her hand, so she raised it to chug the rest of her drink quickly then turned the empty cup upside down to prove her point. "I need another drink."

"You sure, Swan?" Killian grinned at the blonde, so very pleased to note the fact that she'd evidently swallowed everything within the cup. "Just one little dance?"

"Oh. I'm sure." Emma added with a nod, then pushed by him to scamper off into the crowd in hopes of finding her friends. Or maybe her bag. Or both, since she didn't want to stay here all night. "See you later!"

Killian kept his eyes on her until she vanished from his line of sight, then he checked his watch with a private grin. "You can count on it, Swan." He murmured to himself.

* * *

"Watch out it's right behind you." Tracy mumbled from behind her hand to stop popcorn flying out of her mouth. The sound of squelching, shuffling footsteps filled the room in between groans.

Regina didn't take her eyes off the screen as her thumbs worked the controller. The tip of her tongue poked out between her lips in concentration."I see that." She shot back, narrowly making it into the room. "What's the code to the safe?"

Tracy's fingers scooped up a few more pieces of popcorn as she leaned towards Regina to say slowly. "Two. Two. Three. Six." When the safe opened she chewed on her snack. "Oh! Remember to grab the valve handle at the other side of the room, you passed it when you ran to the safe."

"Oh look, acid rounds, and we have no grenade launcher, how useful." Regina drawled, clearly unamused by the fact that she'd risked dying for a map and some useless ammunition. One dark eyebrow quirked as she moved her player on screen to run around the room, narrowly avoiding being grabbed as she took the valve handle and escaped into the hallway. Around the corner, a dead body lay strewn on broken glass, the windows all shattered from the crows that sat perched. She eyed them warily as she searched the body.

"He's been pecked to death." Tracy announced dramatically as the words appeared on screen.

"Lucky for us." Regina muttered under her breath, and took off running down the hallway as the crows swooped down to attack. "Thanks for the bullets." She added belatedly, and walked into the next room.

Tracy chuckled and shook her head. Regina didn't actually have any kind of console herself but she never seemed to mind the older ones when the blonde brought them over. "I kind of love how we just run around scavenging off corpses. I mean when you think about it in that situation you would."

Regina nodded once in agreement, though her eyes remained fixed on the screen. Absorbed in the game as she played. "Rather them than us." Though she grinned darkly and turned to Tracy when the newest prompt appeared. "Will I take the blue card key? Let me think about it for a minute…"

"I know right, can you imagine trying to progress without it?" Tracy grinned right back and set the bowl of popcorn down to grab her soda. She took a sip as she watched Regina move the girl on screen around the room, investigating the surroundings. "Why even give the option?"

Regina hummed in thought as she took in the peculiar room then shrugged lightly. "To trick people into thinking it might be useless? The same way they ask if we want to discard things after we've used them. People will probably hold onto them _just in case._" Which no doubt aided in their death. There were only so many spaces to hold things after all.

"Well, grab it already." Tracy finally muttered, eager to see what else would happen. Though they'd played this game before they'd never actually played _Scenario B. _

"Patience. I like to look around first." Though even as she said it Regina found herself accepting the card key. Immediately, the glass roof shattered as a beast landed on all fours, it's flesh looked skinned, it's claws the size of hands as it scuttled forward, blind and vicious. Regina's entire body jolted with shock and surprise, and she turned wide eyed to bark somewhat shrilly, "Did you know that was going to happen?"

Tracy's own reaction of almost spilling her drink was neglected as she laughed back, "Nope, but watching you almost throw the controller through the ceiling was priceless."

Regina growled low in her throat and pointedly ignored her friend as she made the girl run out of the room and through several others to get to the main lobby. "You just had to insist we play this on hard, I don't know why I listen to you." The brunette grumbled after she wasted half her ammo on two of the dead officers that had lurched towards her. Finally, she grabbed the Unicorn medal and made her way down the step ladders. Each footstep gave a chilling clang that echoed around the room.

Tracy shrugged playfully and shot a wicked smirk towards her friend. "It's scarier when the risk of dying seems iminent. Plus you're funny when you're scared."

"I'm not afraid." Regina insisted with a glower. "It's a video game, an old one at that, look at the graphics." She waved one hand towards the screen as she activated the lobby computer to open the locked doors with the key card. As she turned the girl around she spotted a new weapon behind the desk and grinned. "Ah, there's the grenade launcher." Quickly, she used the unicorn medal to retrieve the key that fell from the vase a statue held. When she checked it, it merely stated it was in the shape of a spade. "Really? I had no idea. Thank you for such wonderful information."

Tracy grinned against the can of soda. Though they took turns at playing, she quite enjoyed just listening to the brunette's commentary. "Try to lock pick the desk." She said lightly, aware that every little thing would be useful at some point.

"How handy." Regina stated when she collected the first aid spray, then dodged the two zombies to get out of the room. She moved around the headless corpse to pick up a green herb, then used the key to get into the storage room. With a swift push of the paper cart she had the girl climb up it to grab the lighter and headed straight back out. In the hallway, she ran by windows and nearly leapt through the ceiling when zombies suddenly flung themselves through them, right behind her. "Okay." Regina stated loudly, and tossed the controller to Tracy who cackled. "Your turn, I want popcorn and I can't play and eat at the same time."

Tracy continued to laugh as she moved the girl on screen through the double doors of the conference room. "Yeah you're not scared." She teased, and made easy work of using the lighter to start a fire in the fireplace. The picture above it burned as a red jewel fell through the canvas. Seconds later and she'd made it back into the hallway, up a flight of stairs, and into an office marked S.T.A.R.S. "Ooo, cut scene."

_Leon! _

_It's good to see you're still among the living. It looks like we're not going to find your brother here after all._

"But here, have his diary instead." Regina dead-panned then turned to regard her friend fully. "If for some reason you can't find me, you do _not _have permission to hand out or read through my belongings."

Tracy turned her attention to Regina and quirked a golden eyebrow, clearly amused. "You have a diary?"

The death glare Regina gave Tracy said that she wasn't that stupid, but felt like it should be clarified said all the same. "No. I have sketchbooks."

Tracy arched her eyebrows and grinned mischievously. "Same difference."

_There's no reason for us to stay here any longer than necessary. Lets split up, look for any survivors, and get out of here._

In Regina's mind there was a huge difference, but she had no desire to get weaseled into another conversation about feelings. "That's his plan? That is a terrible plan." Of course it was, they'd heard all this before, the cut scene never changed. "In the event of some catastrophe and we're together, we're not splitting up. That leads to certain death."

Tracy smirked knowingly but never said anything. If Regina wanted to ignore what she said then so be it, because all it meant was that it had struck a nerve, and Tracy would bet that particular nerve had glasses and blonde hair.

_Right._

_One last thing. Here's a radio. Take it. That way we can keep in touch if anything happens._

"Riveting conversation. We're all going to die." Regina sighed with a shake of her head, then pointed towards an object on screen that twinkled to signal it could be picked up. "Sparkle sparkle on the desk."

"We're not going to die." Tracy chided, utterly amused as she added cheerfully, "We have a radio for back up, what could possibly go wrong?" The second the girl on screen stepped out of the room a child let out a high pitched scream of, _Ahhh! Help me!_

Regina's phone came to life at the exact same moment, to vibrate loudly against the table as music blared from the small device. Instinctively the brunette jumped to her feet with a cry of, "_Ahh!What the_-"

Tracy paused the game in fits of laughter and set the controller on the table, unable to contain herself as she watched her friend try to compose herself.

Regina shot an angry glare towards Tracy and snatched up her phone. She answered with a barked, "Hello?" And was met with the strangest sound of hitched breath before a voice mumbled back with, "_Tasty egg quesadillas."_

Dark eyes narrowed in confusion and she actually took the phone away from her ear to look at it before snapping back, "What?"

"_Twisted elephants quack." _Came the garbled response. The loud music in the background obviously drowned out the voice. "Who is this?" Regina demanded, her own tone dangerously low despite the volume of it. The answer she received was a hiccup.

Several seconds passed then the voice returned with more strangeness. "_Totally exciting quest. Tiny elegant quilts?" _Torn between utter confusion and annoyance, Regina settled for shouting down the line. "I am not the Riddler!" Then hung up to slam her phone down against the table, belatedly hoping she hadn't broken it. Evidently her heart was still stuck somewhere on the ceiling from the fright she'd gotten.

Tracy's laughter threatened to bubble up again as she watched Regina freak out, but she managed to keep it at bay long enough to ask, "Wrong number again?"

"Some idiot stuck on a loop of gibberish." Regina muttered, the fingers of her right hand brushed through her hair as she tried to calm down. "Tiny elegant quilts? What the hell does that even mean? How do these people survive without swallowing their own tongues when they sleep?" She shook her head, obviously not requesting an answer, and sighed heavily. "I'm getting a soda, do you want one?"

Tracy eyed the phone then Regina. She had no idea what it meant either. Obviously the brunette wanted a moment alone to gather herself so the blonde shrugged and gave her an excuse without pointing a spotlight on it. "Yes please. I wouldn't say no to some reheated mac 'n' cheese either."

Regina huffed out a breath and rolled her eyes. "You'd think we were friends." She sassed gently, but smiled gratefully at the blonde before she turned and made her way into the kitchen.

Tracy had only touched the controller when Regina's phone sprang to life again and she picked it up to look at the number. Whoever it was sure as hell wasn't in her contacts list and Regina rarely gave out her number. Whoever it was must have a death wish.

"Answer it and tell them that if they don't stop calling, I'll hunt them down and gut them!" Regina called out from the kitchen with enough venom to make Tracy believe her.

Tracy accepted the call but before she could say a word the voice on the other end began to ramble. "_Don't hang up! Just… Just tell me what T.E.Q. means! Then you can go back to being a complete bitch and I can go back to wishing I'd slapped you and we can both go back to hating each other."_

So the wrong number knew Regina after all. This suddenly got a lot more interesting. Tracy cleared her throat and stated slowly. "Regina's busy right now. Who is this?"

"_Oh…" _Came the startled response down the line. Whatever else it said sounded too garbled to understand but Tracy was sure it had sounded like _I'm a swan._ "You're a swan?" She asked bemused, her own face contorting as she tried to wrap her mind around it. No wonder Regina had slammed the phone down. "Shouldn't you be in a pond somewhere?"

"_No, Em-ma Swan."_ Enunciated the voice on the other side of the phone. "_What's it mean? Driving me nuts."_

Oh… Well this just kept getting better and better. Tracy actually bit back a laugh as she said, "I'll go ask. Hold on." She pressed the phone to her shoulder to ensure her conversation wouldn't be overheard and walked into the kitchen to ask calmly, "What happened with Emma?"

Regina paused in her stirring of the cheesy pasta like a deer caught in headlights and licked her lips nervously. "Emma who?" She fired back casually, and finally looked up to meet her friends questioning gaze.

"The mystery caller?" Tracy began, knowing she would be pushing it, yet compelled all the same now that she knew why Regina had caused such a huge scene in the cafeteria. "Is her trying to drunkenly work out your tag and oh, here's the best part, her last name's _Swan, _but I think you already knew that."

The brunette sniffed and returned her attention to the pasta as she resumed stirring. "So what if I did, it's hardly relevant."

"Hardly relevant?" Tracy hissed, although she wasn't in the slightest bit surprised. Everything made so much more sense now that she had that little detail. "You publicly smacked around Killian because he was talking about her!"

"Pure coincidence." Regina began offhandedly, well aware that her ambivalence was on full display. "I just don't like the way he treats the female of the species."

Tracy narrowed her eyes suspiciously and pressed the phone harder against her shoulder. "Something happened between you two." One way or another, she'd get to the bottom of it.

"Nothing has happen between us." Regina replied smoothly, because one _almost kiss _did not a _something _make.

The snort Tracy gave was derisive as she walked over to her friend and turned off the oven. "So why did she go from thanking you one day to calling you a complete bitch the next?"

Regina turned away from the pot of heated pasta, less annoyed by Tracy's boldness as she all but snapped, "She called me _what?" _

The non-answer resulted in Tracy offering a small smile as she sweetly stated, "I'll just ask her myself." Then purposefully raised the phone away from her shoulder to call Regina's bluff.

It worked, much to the brunette's frustration as she grabbed Tracy's wrist to halt her. "No _wait! _Wait. It's complicated." She sighed, and folded her arms around herself.

"Everything is with you." Tracy pointed out, unsurprised and motioned with her free hand for her friend to continue. "Out with it."

Regina pressed her lips together before grudgingly spitting out between clenched teeth, "She came over to check on me yesterday."

Tracy arched her eyebrows and fired back accusingly, "And you punished her for it."

"I did not punish her!" It would have sounded more convincing if Regina actually believed it herself. No, she had been cruel, but at the time it had felt necessary. "I… Might have said some things to make sure she'd keep her distance in the future. It's for the best."

"What kind of things? How can that possibly be for the best?" Tracy cocked her head and narrowed her eyes. She'd seen the worst in Regina and she'd seen the best in her, what she rarely saw however was remorse or shame. So to be met with both fuelled on her own suspicions. "She did nothing wrong but it sounds like _you _did."

Yes. Regina was all too aware of her own actions but she certainly wasn't going to explain them to Tracy. Friend or not, these were things she'd keep to herself. "I never said she did." She finally admitted, and moved to grab her soda on the counter to take a liberal sip.

"Oh, you _like _her…" Tracy breathed out through a grin, just above a whisper, and watched the way Regina's complexion changed from olive to ruddy. "And _she likes you_. No wonder you're running for the hills."

The can in Regina's hand creaked as her fingers bent the thin metal unintentionally. "I am not running anywhere and it's none of your business." The warning came out as a snarl as she turned her dark gaze to Tracy. "This conversation is officially over."

Tracy knew better than to poke wild animals with sticks but the more she thought about it all, the more she slowly began to realise something crucial. "You're afraid." She said softly, careful to make sure that she wouldn't come across as taunting, so much as curious.

The muscle's in Regina's jaw danced wildly beneath the skin as she tried to resist the urge to lash out. Regina could handle being many things but afraid was not one of them. Especially when it came to a girl. "Tracy you will drop it this instance or so help me…"

Tracy ignored the threat as she leaned against the kitchen island to observe her friends reactions. "What is it about her that frightens you so much? She seems nice."

Regina released a huff of breath. "Yes. She's very…" Dark eyes caught the smug smile that tugged at her friends lips and she automatically changed the subject. "I'm _not _having this discussion with you. Now give me back my phone."

Tracy rolled her eyes as she shook her head. She would never tease Regina for liking the girl so why her friend couldn't just talk to her about it frankly hurt. It wasn't as if she didn't know which team Regina swung for, they'd talked about it before. "For the record I think you're an idiot." Tracy stated as she held out her phone.

"So noted." Regina said, and snatched her phone back to snap down the line, "If I tell you, will you stop calling me?"

Music and a muffled voice came through the line. The sound of something shifting, fabric perhaps, but Regina couldn't be sure. "Are you there?" She tried again, the frown on her face deepening, and not from earlier annoyance.

Another voice this time. Deeper. Masculine. The words themselves were unintelligible as she strained to make out the conversation. "Hello?" Regina raised her voice just shy from shouting, and could have sworn she heard Emma in the background faintly before hearing the deeper voice, much closer this time. Then the line went dead. The hairs at the back of Regina's neck stood on end. "How drunk did she sound?" She asked, searching Tracy's gaze with dark piercing eyes.

Tracy opened her mouth then hesitated. Obviously something had happened but she wasn't sure what. Cautiously she answered as honestly as she could from the brief conversation she'd had with the blonde. "Slurred enough to be having a good time, why?"

Regina's didn't even bother to hide the wave of anxiety as it hit her. Feet moved of their own accord to get her into the hall as she fiddled with her wallet to get her front door key. "Because someone just hung up and I don't think it was her."

Tracy followed Regina into the hall with a frown. Since when did Regina ever show signs of panic? The sight unnerved the blonde as she called out, "Wait, what? Where are you going?"

Regina paused just long enough to look at Tracy as she opened the front door. "Grab your keys, _we're _going for a drive."

* * *

Emma had wandered into the room so she could carry on the conversation but she'd set the phone down on the bed to rummage through her bag for the elusive bar of chocolate she knew lurked inside it while she waited for, whoever it was, to come back with Regina. "Regina." Emma mumbled to herself, lips quirking into a slight smile as she thought of the brunette that got under her skin. She'd been angry earlier but now she was starting to feel happy. Floaty, almost, like all of her troubles were dissolving. "Where is it?" She asked her bag, one hand stuffed inside it. She didn't notice Killian enter the room, or the fact that he shut the door behind him, until he spoke.

"Ah, there you are Swan. We were starting to think you'd passed out somewhere." He grinned to himself, well aware that the blonde's friends had no idea where she was because they were too busy drinking and dancing to notice she'd vanished from the party.

"Mmh, here I am." Emma said, more to herself than him as she pulled out a pair of socks and frowned. That wasn't what she wanted. They were stuffed inside her bag again as she carried on her search. "What's up guyliner?"

Killian ignored the insult as he watched the blonde with an amused expression. "You're not leaving are you? The night's just begun." The words were barely out of his mouth as he stepped towards the window and casually pulled the curtains closed. The light in the room dimmed.

"Looking for stuff to munch." Emma muttered back absently, and pulled out a pack of four light beers. The cans were tossed onto the bed without a second thought.

"Don't mind if I do." Killian helped himself to one of the beers and that was when he noticed the phone. Without hesitating he tapped the button to end the call and turned to smile at Emma. "You still owe me that dance."

"Later." She grunted out, then gave up her search in frustration. She sat up straight and swayed. How much had she had to drink? "Do you have any chips?" Emma asked suddenly, because food would soak up the alcohol, or something, right? "Ugh, mouths sticky. How much sugar was in that punch?"

"Not on me." Killian said through a chuckle, and scowled at the blonde's phone when it began to ring. Quick fingers turned the device off as he coughed to mask the sound and handed over the beer. "Here, have a sip of this, it'll help."

* * *

"You can't just walk in there, what if nothings wrong?" Tracy tried to reason as she parked the car and turned off the engine.

Regina had considered that and honestly didn't give a shit. If nothing was wrong then she'd leave without causing a scene. She just couldn't shake the feeling that something bad would happen if she didn't at least go inside and check on the infuriating blonde. For some reason she wholeheartedly believed that if the tables were turned, Emma would do the same for her. Regina owed her that at least. "Then why did her phone ring before being switched off?" She countered softly.

Tracy chewed her lower lip as her gaze went to the house filled with nearly everyone in their grade. "Maybe her battery died…" The thought of it being anything else was too unsettling to dwell on.

"Maybe someone has it." Regina added, entirely too calm to be considered anything other than dangerous.

"Yeah, like a friend." It wasn't that she didn't believe Regina's gut feeling, Tracy just had to play devils advocate to go over all the possible answers but even to her own ears they sounded weak. "This is a bad idea, I'll go in with you. Stop people questioning why you showed up."

"I think I can handle a group of drunks." Regina scoffed, and shot a dark look towards the house. If she had lived near there she'd have called the police for the sheer level of noise. "With any luck their double vision will stop them from spotting me."

Tracy got out from behind the wheel as soon as Regina stepped out of the car. "I wasn't asking, Regina, we're going in together. Think of it as the catastrophe you mentioned earlier. No splitting up, remember?"

Regina paused to regard her friend. It was so much more than that and they both knew it. If something were to happen she knew Tracy would have her back. The nod she gave her friend said what her mouth simply couldn't. "Come on, the sooner we find her the sooner we can leave."

* * *

Emma didn't question why Killian appeared to care, she just took the beer and chugged it back until her saliva felt less like glue and stopped tasting of fruit.

"Better?" Killian asked as he cocked his head and smiled down at her.

Though she'd been about to nod she found herself burping instead and the fact that it startled her made her laugh for minute. "Hey…" She said, wiping her mouth as she spoke. "Can I tell you something?"

"You can tell me anything, Swan." The grin on Killian's face was positively lecherous as he sat next to her on the bed and slung one arm around her shoulders.

Emma lowered her voice and lifted one hand to stage whisper, "I'm wasted. Don't tell Ruby, she'll take pictures."

Killian laughed and gave her a quick squeeze as he inched closer to her. "But you feel good, don't you?"

"Mmm." Emma hummed lightly, her head lolling forward slightly as her vision blurred for a second or two.

"I bet I could make you feel great." Killian whispered. The fingers wrapped around Emma's shoulder began to rub slow circles down her arm as he coaxed gently, "Ever had a massage?"

"You're such an ass." Emma laughed, and shoved him away with enough force to send herself toppling back against the bed. "You see that right?" She blinked a few times then raised one hand to point above her. "The ceiling tilting."

"How would like to see stars instead?" Killian asked as he stood up. The tips of his fingers slowly began to caress from Emma's knee up to her thigh so very lightly. When he reached the hem of her shirt he plucked at the fabric with the intent to pull it upwards, when the door burst open. Light cascaded into the room and illuminated them. Killian took his hand back quickly and snapped out, "We're busy here. Get. Out."

"Oh I don't think so." Snarled Regina, and stepped into the room with an equally appalled looking Tracy. Killian couldn't see the way her friends hand had grabbed a fist-full of the back of her shirt to stop her from lunging at him. Every cell in her body felt like it was vibrating from anger and though she could see Emma in her peripheral vision, her dark gaze bore directly into Killian. "Nobody wants your two solid inches of disappointment."

Oh, that struck a nerve, because Killian's face turned a shade of purple as he sputtered back, "Swan can speak for herself!"

"Yes. She can." Regina agreed, still staring at Killian. "Do you want to sleep with _this…_" There was no suitable word for how vulgar she considered him to be but she found that leaving it open ended worked wonders.

"Hey, you're here!" The bright smile that broke across Emma's face could have parted clouds as she shifted to roll onto her side and stood up on wobbly legs. Then the question hit and she paused to look at Killian as silence stretched on. Rich laughter erupted from the blonde as she turned to look at Regina. "Hell no! Do you have any chips?"

Killian didn't move. Didn't blink, as Regina pinned him in place with her dark eyes and the silent promise that intense pain would be in his very near future. She didn't take her eyes off him at all as she forced her voice to sound light and somewhat cheerful. "Yes, lets go get them."

"Together." Tracy added, and held out her free hand towards Emma with an encouraging smile. If they stayed in the room any longer, she wouldn't be able to stop Regina from acting on every single impulse she knew was currently fluttering through her mind.

"Okay." Emma agreed with a crooked grin, unaware of Killian's intentions and the tense atmosphere that surrounded them all. With a slight grunt she picked up her bag and found her cell phone before she stumbled towards them like a newborn giraffe. "We can make s'mores, I have the stuff." She announced proudly, and took Tracy's hand.

Regina's features softened as she looked at Emma. The girl was three sheets to the wind, her pupils were dilated so much that the green of her eyes could barely be seen, and yet she was still so very _her. _Ultimately kind and very generous. Which only infuriated the brunette as she shot a deadly glare at Killian. How could anyone take advantage of her like that? What kind of depraved monster could possibly get off on hurting someone with such a big heart?

Killian didn't say anything and never once made any attempt to stop them as they backed out of the room, but the rage he shared with Regina was tangible.

Regina turned to carefully take the bag from Emma and slung it over her own shoulder as the girl walked hand in hand with Tracy down the stairs. They'd almost made it to the door when Ruby jogged over to tug on Emma's sleeve.

"Hey! Where are you going, with…" The lanky brunette trailed off, and she frowned at the two girls she remembered from the other day. "Where are you taking her?" The question was directed to Regina, as she she'd singled her out to be the one calling the shots.

Regina stiffened at the tone and stepped into the taller brunette's personal space as Tracy paused on the front step with Emma. "I'm taking her somewhere safe." She sneered. "Where friends don't leave her alone and her drinks don't get spiked."

"What? Her drink was spiked?" Confusion marred Ruby's features as she glanced towards Emma. The blonde was leaning heavily against the other blonde and she frowned. "She was fine like, half an hour ago."

"Her pupil's could rival an owls." Regina spat back. "Go back to the party. Enjoy yourself like you clearly have been all night while she was alone in a room with _that bastard Killian." _

When Ruby's jaw dropped Regina about turned and marched out of the house to catch up with the two blonde's. Tracy tossed her the car keys and Regina quickly unlocked the door before opening the back one to toss Emma's bag inside. She handed Tracy the keys and eased Emma into the back seat carefully. With a slight tug of war with the belt, Regina managed to buckle the girl in but paused to lean against the side of the car.

"You were right." Tracy said quietly as she looked over at Regina, her hand on the handle of the drivers door. "If we hadn't gone to check on her…"

"Don't." Regina warned. Not because she didn't agree but because she simply couldn't think about it. The idea turned her stomach. If she'd been five minutes later. If they'd been stuck at a red light. If she'd decided to check downstairs first. Anything could have happened. How far Killian would have taken things was a guess she did not want to make, her mind supplied the worst case scenario regardless.

Tracy winced, because her mind went to the same dark place Regina's had. She sucked in a deep breath and tapped the roof of her car. "We should get her back to your place."

"Yes." Regina acknowledged softly, and slipped into the passenger seat. Dark eyes glanced in the rearview mirror and softened at the sight of a Emma, head back against the seat, content as she nibbled on a bar of chocolate. She turned to catch Tracy watching her, and quirked a dark eyebrow.

"Tell me again that you don't like her." Tracy whispered, and smiled as she caught sight of her friend's blush.

"Just drive." Regina hissed back, then turned on the radio to stop her friend from whispering anything else.


End file.
